The One About the Thesis Presentation

Yesterday, I attended my sister's Master of Science thesis presentation. For her, it was the culmination of three years of graduate work in the environmental studies program, so it was exciting to be there and cheer her on. She had expected only six people to show up, but a crowd of forty crammed into the classroom to hear her speak and show their support. In attendance were family, friends, classmates, coworkers, professors and about fifteen grad students who were required to be there for credit or wanted to see how it was done.

Her thesis focused on the gray wolf recovery program in Idaho and the government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Nez Perce tribe, which has successfully managed the program for the last ten years. It's an interesting subject that touches on politically charged topics like tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and the Endangered Species Act.

The result of her research, numerous interviews and visit to Idaho was a 144-page document that concludes with recommendations on how to improve governmental relations while benefiting the wolves. Her presentation was an hour long followed by thirty minutes of questions and answers. For someone who doesn't like public speaking, it must have felt like an eternity to her. Even with the big audience, she didn't appear nervous, but when it was over, she was exhausted.

I'm so proud of her. This degree didn't come easily. I doubt most degrees do, but it was strange to see her struggle at times. She is the type of person who makes the most difficult tasks look simple. Growing up, she never had trouble with school, so when certain graduate classes started to frustrate her, it was scary to see. Yet she stuck with it, managed to find her stride and eventually excelled. She is one of the first in her class (of ten) to complete the program and the only one graduating this semester.

Her presentation reminded me of a few years back, when she was majoring in music and had to give yearly hour-long piano recitals. The week preceding any performance, she would be stressing out and claiming nothing was ready or everything was horrible. She would say it right up to the day of the recital, but once she sat down at the piano, the anxiety seemed to disappear and she would perform flawlessly, mesmerizing the audience with her musical magic. I miss those days and hearing her play.

Last night was a different type of performance, but the magic was back. Apparently, it translates well to environmental studies. Knowing her, it's something that will translate nicely to whatever else she pursues in life.