An advantage of having a smaller school is the ability to develop relationships with the faculty and staff. Yesterday, the SIS student body hosted a lunch in order to show our appreciation for the SIS faculty and staff. It is good to have been able to become friends with my professors, the advising staff (which I now share an office with) and the administration over the past two and a half years. These are the people that have encouraged me to pursue a PhD, and I am confident that if they had not I never would have considered it a possibility. It has been a blessing to study under and with people who have seen potential in me and encouraged me in that direction.