Thursday, July 27, 2023

Crosspost: How a simple celebratory gathering can offer a positive outlook

By Ilinca Ciubotariu for Nature


A few weeks ago, the annual ‘Things to Celebrate’ event took place at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana — a time to reconnect with undergraduate and graduate students, research assistants, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members. Clutching free ice cream, everyone at the event shared some of their accomplishments over the past year.
celebratory cupcakes
Credit: stockcreations/Shutterstock

Custom dictates that all attendees add their successes from the past year to a dry-erase board. This year, the board slowly filled with accounts of wrapping up experiments, passing a qualifying or preliminary exam, submitting papers, receiving promotions or completing an internship. Everyone was encouraged to reflect on the past year, and we all shared in the hour of glee.

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Eds note: Tell us how you celebrate and acknowledge accomplishments in the comments section.

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