I dedicate those three letters after my name to Jim McGinley. My dissertation journey was long, complicated and gut wrenching at times. It wasn’t until I started working with Jim about one year before my defense that I was able to turn a corner in the process and finally reach the finish line. He provided step by step guidance for each analysis and helped me to feel confident in my methods and results. He answered every tiny question promptly (often within minutes) and helped to bolster my ability to answer my own questions. He checked in on my progress throughout and was always available when deadlines started to pop up with very little notice. Our Sunday morning dissertation defense prep calls were so valuable to me in helping me to feel completely prepared to defend all questions from my committee. My committee was blown away by the amount of work put into the methods section–and the clarity in which every step was explained. And to my astonishment, my very opinionated committee accepted my dissertation at my defense with no revisions. Jim was one of the first people I reached out to after this milestone since he was truly with me every step of the way. I am beyond grateful to Jim and know that I as continue to move forward professionally he will be the first person I reach out to for any and all methods related questions.
