Well this is a post that I (Gary) have been wanting to write for the last week. Last Friday we went up to Flagstaff to meet with my Academic Advisor at NAU. We were going to go up there the next Friday, but my advisor was going to be out of town so we took a quick day trip up there to drop off some resumes for Angela and to check out our new duplex that we are going to be moving into. So I met with my advisor (who also happens to be the Department Chair) and we talked about which classes I should register for. He gave me some overrides so that I could get into certain classes this semester. Then I asked him for some suggestions for employment while attending NAU. I originally was planning on working as a TA or as a Research Assistant which often provides some good benefits like breaks on your tuition, stipends, and sometimes health insurance. I had talked to my advisor on the phone a couple weeks prior to meeting with him and he made it sound like the program that I am in doesn’t have too many TA or RA positions to offer since they don’t have as many research projects going on as schools like ASU. So they don’t have that kind of funding to offer their graduate students until their final years in the PhD program. So I was kind of nervous about how we were going to finance my education so I brought it up in my meeting with my advisor. This is where the Lord totally stepped in and blessed us. My advisor said that if I was looking for a job he could offer me a position as a TA. He told me that about three hours prior to our meeting one of his TA’s called him and said they couldn’t do it. By taking this position I would a get 70% tuition waiver and a $9000 a year stipend as well as full health coverage! The class that I would TA for would be two sections of EDS 101 (or basically Psychology 101). The professor responsible for these classes already has the class completely outlined with all of the material outlined along with all of the tests already written up. I would be the one who presents the material to the students. So that afternoon I ended up signing all of the paper and got the position secured! I feel so blessed. If we would have gone up there the next weekend the position surely would have been filled already. I really feel like the Lord is looking out for us.
