Julianne Jett, won the 2014 Department of Pharmacology Student of the Year Award, at this year’s annual Pharmacology Graduate Student Symposium. Julianne is a Neuroscience student who is working in Dr. David Morilak’s lab, where she is investigating the mechanisms by which chronic stress can lead to deficits in cognitive flexibility. The details of Julianne’s successes as a graduate student and as the newest Pharmacology Graduate Student of the Year are highlighted here.

I must thank Julianne Jett for being my friend, colleague, and mentor. Julianne and I have been the dearest of friends since we began the graduate program, let’s just say a “few” years ago. Therefore, the following will be a bit biased but never-the-less completely founded in truth.

Julianne has been an instrumental piece of my success as a trainee, even now as I embark on my career path. It is important for each of us to find multiple mentors in our lives, and Julianne has been one of mine. So, I am using this blog to stress to ALL trainees that one might find a mentor not just within the laboratory setting

but within some of your closest friends and colleagues. As you move through your career, keep your mind open and embrace the support system that you have as those are the friends and colleagues who will stand by you throughout your career. Graduate school, postdoctoral training, and the world of science is unique in that we can cultivate relationships around a common ground, “Science.” The language of science can bridge the gap between many unexpected companions. Julianne and I might not seem like unexpected friends but the strength of our relationship has grown in a way that I could not have anticipated.

This is where I quote a deep and meaningful proverb, “A candle looses nothing by lighting another candle.” So as you go about your careers remember to thank those who have shared their light with you and to not be afraid to share your light with those around you. Additionally, remember that blowing out someone else’s candle does not make yours shine any brighter.

As graduate trainees, we often look for guidance from our teachers, faculty advisors, and distinguished scientists in our field. We need to remember that sometimes mentors can be found in a fellow trainee, lab partner or colleague. So if you are in search of such a mentor, you need to look no further than Julianne Jett. Congrats Julianne on this great accomplishment of Pharmacology Graduate Student of the Year and for the many more accomplishments to come!