Jeff Jansberry walked into the final conference ceremony with
his nerves a tingle and a slight line of perspiration around his collar. Although he had heard of a flood of meetings
hosted by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the
first annual meeting he had been invited to.
Once a year, the Society would convene in April to talk about new
research, recognize distinguished accomplishments in the fields and award grant
money [influential event].
“Jeff, come join us over here!” shouted the too-jovial Dr.
Mike Wallace.
“Well, hello, Dr. Wallace.”
“I told you, call me Mike”, he said, offering a glass of
champagne. “Do you know that this
society, the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been around
for more than 100 years?” roared the doctor [authoritative organization].
“We are the scientist that
delve into the depths of science where no man has gone before, into the
ribosomes and rNA and genes, and we…publish papers. What have you published lately, Jeff?”
“Uhhm, well, I’m working on publishing about a new project
in my laboratory. We are working with
cyclotides and gene-“
“Better start publishing soon if you want someone to remember
your name,” Dr. Wallace interrupted. “When
I was your age, I had already published in all three of the society’s research
journals. If you haven’t got many
important discoveries to tell, they have a monthly journal too, ya’ know?” [authoritative publication].
“Yes, I did in fact know… “
Jeff grasped around the room for a conversation starter. “Do you know many of the people here?”
“Of course! I know
the President and most of the council members.
Oh, there’s the President-Elect at the second table. Nine council members, a President, a
President-Elect, and a past-President.
Very good people to have as friends” [regulating standard].
“Well, Dr. Wallace, I mean, Mike, I better go make some
friends,” Jeff replied in an attempt to disentangle himself from the
conversation.
“Just remember, Jeff, play the game by their rules or they
will cut your funding,” blurted Dr. Wallace [challenging authority/changing standards]. “I wouldn’t want you to end up like the last
nobody."
I feel like these world-wide, or more popular organizations are a bit intimidating, especially for the man in your story. I wrote about an organization that is well-known throughout the world. After researching it, I realized that what I want to get into is way beyond BYU, or the country for that matter.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how certain fields, like yours, are set up to make big changes for other fields, like mine (nursing), who then put it to practice. Basically you do all the important and hard work and I don't have to use my brain as much.
ReplyDelete