An Unexpected Postgrad Event

So checking my email this morning, I found an email from Aberdeen informing me that I had been selected for the highly competitive Overseas Research Student Award (which covers the difference in tuition between home and overseas tuition). It is indeed highly competitive considering that I was competing with applicants from all over the world (and students from the US are not exactly exciting for institutions to fund) for every dept at Aberdeen (which is a lot, and also considering that I had applied with a proposal on linguistic typology [read: boring] when others were likely doing more exciting/relevant/flashy topics).

That award equates to about $4030/yr, yet does not cover the full Aberdeen tuition. Obviously this is encouraging and validation for my research and PhD aspirations, but as most of you already know--I have already declined all offers for study. Even with this award/bursary, there is still not enough money for Cheryl and me to go overseas and study. This will have to wait for some other time in our lives (i.e. post-student loan repayment!). ...and until then I will continue to seek FT employment state side (please keep praying!).

Postgraduate Aspirations XIII: Aberdeen Funding

I received word early this morning that the large funding opportunity for U of Aberdeen was not extended to me in any amount:

"We would like to offer funding to all students; as we are sure you will understand, however, this is not possible and not all applications can receive funding. Regrettably, due to limited funds, we are unable to offer you funding."

So, prayers are appreciated for us as we try to figure out the next step after my graduation. The struggle is to make sense of how hard I worked this past year on this endeavour and how much Cheryl put up with while I worked over-over-overtime. As Collins would say, though, "You don't have to understand life to be faithful." This still hits us square in the gut, though.

Postgraduate Aspirations XII: U of Chicago

On Saturday I received another rejection letter, this time from University of Chicago. It was also well-written, though not to the degree of Harvard's. So what does this mean? Well, it means that everything is now riding on 2-3 funding applications at University of Aberdeen. I should hear word in April. Your prayers are appreciated and effective, I'm sure.

Postgraduate Aspirations XI: Harvard

I was graciously informed by Harvard today that I will not be walking their halls. This, of course, means that I will also not be receiving any funding from them--two birds with one stoney letter, I suppose. Ah well. I still have yet to hear from U of Chicago on admission or funding.....

Postgraduate Aspirations X: Update

I'm waiting. No new news.

Indy!

Postgraduate Aspirations IX: Godly Hope

I have been thinking about what the place of hope is within the context of waiting for and discerning God's plan. There is an impulse to see faithful patience as simple submission ("Whatever you will, Lord), but how does a rightful hope for a particular pathway fit into that? Certainly it does. Perhaps it is not the presence or absence of hope which makes it "godly", but the object and aim of it as such. I am still working this out; I'd love to hear the thoughts of others.

Postgraduate Aspirations VIII: A Massive Fear

...that many years from now, someone will say to someone else, "Ah yes, he was accepted to multiple PhD programs to study Hebrew...yet never went."

Postgraduate Aspirations VII: Reality Check

I began hunting around for information about funding opportunities, methods and guidelines for the US schools yesterday. For the most, these schools/depts take care of the funding internally as part of the application for admission (far different to the way its done overseas). As I looked at the requirements, I realized that it is highly unlikely that I will be able to get any funding at OSU, and, by reasonable extension, at the other two schools. While this is immensely discouraging, it does reveal a simple truth.

If I somehow go on to a PhD, there are enough roadblocks that would have been overcome to be able to undeniably say, "I'm doing this because the Lord wanted me here," and not be able to say, "I got myself here." If God wants me to go to more school--it'll have to be His work; I've cooperated to the best of my abilities.

Postgraduate Aspirations VI: Ohio State University

So, when I arrived home I was greeted with an envelope from OSU glaring at me from the mailbox. These were not to be sent out until mid-March, I understood, yet here it is; as I opened it I assumed that the early arrival was a bad sign.

I read, however, that I have been unprovisionally and unconditionally accepted to the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures program in Semitic philology at OSU (this probably sounds like a curse to some, I realize that)! What I do not yet know, though, is anything about funding--that will have to wait until I contact and hear from a professor or two next week.

Now if I would only hear soon from Harvard and University of Chicago...and funding.

Postgraduate Aspirations V: Wisdom in Uncertainty

As I am peppered with loving questions about our post-Covenant plans, the anxiety born from the uncertainty of our plans is consistently renewed. During these times, I am reintroduced to the question of "what do I do now while we wait?"

Last week, in real despair over the uncertainty, I told Cheryl how much I longed for a "simple life." I just want(ed) to live out my life with as few complications (read: "uncertainties") as possible, a simple life. I want(ed) to be a farmer or something, but I quickly realized that their lives are far from simple (read: "worry free"); they have weather, droughts, pests and a lot else daily threatening their livelihood.

So does a simple life exist? Can it? If so, what does it look like and can my life be simple now? Thinking through this, I was (once again) brought back to the idea of biblical wisdom and Covenant faithfulness. For all the complications of my life I alone am responsible--I've spun them. "What do I do now while we wait for answers?" The same thing I would do if I were not waiting at all or if we already had answers--live faithfully under God, loving Him above all else and loving those around me. A wisdom-filled life is simple. How the Lord must both smile and cry at once viewing all our inventions of complication.

Postgraduate Aspirations IV: Motivations

I realized this morning as I was on my way to school that perhaps not every reader of this humble blog is familiar with the term or concept of "valency." Since this is what I would like to research, I thought I would delve into a brief discussion of it--not so much what it is (I'd love to share a Belgian beer or coffee with you and go there), but what its worth. Why valency?

1. It can assist language-learners and instructors in seeing the language and its issues (especially syntax) in predictable, clear systems.
2. It can improve lexicographical method and output, producing more precise and usable semantic/pragmatic definitions for verbs
3. It can, in general, help readers to read/translate with more consistency and with greater ease than is usually possible with the current offering of morpho-syntactic descriptions and lexicography.
4. It is a field of research which has been highly active in English, German, Dutch and so-called "exotic" languages, but barely active as applied to any of the Northwest Semitic languages, especially Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic.

In other words, I want to study valency because it helps people to read Hebrew better.



wk

Postgraduate Aspirations III: Aberdeen

So I thought, since it does relate to postgrad stuff, that I would go ahead and post some good news. I received an offer letter from the University of Aberdeen extending an unconditional offer to study. Pretty crazy to read something like that--even though it is what I have been working toward for the past year.

So does this mean we're going to Aberdeen? Well, maybe, but not definitely. It's the first step. I am working on securing funding via internal and external outlets at Aberdeen. We need a lot of funding for this to work, so it's still very much up in the air. But hey, I got accepted!

One step closer to that Aberdeen Divinity scarf....


wk

Postgraduate Aspirations II

As I wait to hear back from my schools having now completed all applications, I have the feeling I did in 3rd grade. ...sitting two desks from that girl and passing a note, desperate to find out if she likes me too.

The last of the decision letters (does that sound cold to anyone else?) will be sent out in mid-March. Raise your glasses to hope!


wk

Postgraduate Aspirations I

Some of you may well be aware, already, that I have serious aspirations to pursue a postgraduate degree after I graduate from Covenant in May of this year. What you may not know, though, is the nature of what I want to study and where I have applied to conduct such learning. Allow me to augment your burgeoning knowledge of this topic!

The What
Straight from my standarised research proposal: "The Valency of Verbs in Biblical Hebrew with Specific Attention to the Ambitransitive Phenomenon, Valency-changing Mechanisms and Cognate Languages." In an effort to not go back on my word from my first post regarding not spending blog time on Hebrew grammar...I will go no further on this point. Thank me.

The Where
University of Aberdeen
Harvard University
University of Chicago
Ohio State University


wk