April 2023
Message From DER Director
When it rains, it pours . . .
Over the past two weeks, it has felt as if everything
was going wrong. Everything seemed to be breaking. In the middle of those
moments, it felt as though nothing was working out…
It all started with sump pump problems in my
basement, where my pump monitoring device indicated that the pump was running
excessively. Luckily, I managed to drive home just in time before the basement
flooded. We thought it was fixed after installing a new pump, but it failed a
few days later, resulting in two inches of water covering half of my basement.
This was a big mess. Thankfully, everything is now working well, and my
basement is dry, just in time for the heavy rain this week.
In addition to the basement flooding, I
encountered problems with my car ignition. The key was difficult to turn, and
at one point, it would not turn off the car. Pushing too hard in a moment of
panic forced the key blade to break off in the ignition while the engine was still
running. After a frantic hour and a half drive home, it took pliers to get the
broken key to turn and the engine to shut off. Fortunately, later today I’ll
have the ignition switch replaced, and my car will be back to working order.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, I
took my phone to a repair shop for a quick and simple fix to replace the
cracked backing and failing battery. That day, I left the store and had to go
back five more times because the repair shop broke something different each time
they tried to repair the last sequential thing they just attempted to repair.
After six hours, and a day full of frustration, I ended up leaving the store
with a new phone.
“Perspective is everything when you are
experiencing the challenges of life.” - Joni Eareckson Tada
You also may have experienced incredible challenges
this week, but we are reminded that valuable support from others helps each of
us to successfully overcome these challenges. We rely on one another to help overcome
trials. I want to say a special thank you to our DER team including Marcy,
Ziba, Andy, Krista, Robert, Jennifer, and Lisa. They were diligent, reliable,
professional, and always willing to step up and keep DER going while I was off
dealing with these obstacles.
At DER, our team is experienced with helping
faculty navigate challenges and help you proactively avoid unnecessary pitfalls
as we submit proposals on time. Over the years, we’ve had instances when PIs
became ill, went to the hospital, had a child, missed flights, and had many
personal issues come up, all during proposal deadlines. We never know when
unexpected events will happen; however, the DER staff is here to ensure that
your proposal reaches the finish line on time, every time. I can confidently
say that Marcy, Ziba, Andy, Krista, Robert, Jennifer, and Lisa are always there
to help get you and your proposal across the finish line, just as they were
there for me these last two weeks.
If you have additional questions regarding
DER or regarding your upcoming proposal, please send an email to proposals@egr.msu.edu or feel free to contact me directly at alexd@msu.edu with any questions relating to DER.
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