My red door was entry to a School Psychology program in Syracuse. I was an alternate, and the spot didn’t open up. That left me with two options: another graduate program at Georgia where my partner didn’t have entry, or the Behavioral Science program at Auburn University. I hardly knew what Behavior Analysis was all about, but my trail angel was a professor who convinced me to give it a go, I could always leave after my Masters degree. He ended up becoming my advisor, and I found organizational psychology here - a field I didn’t even know existed.
I think about that sliding door, me languishing in the school environment with so little prospects for growth, wow. What a yellow door that was!!!
Totally forgot to reply to this, but just wanted to say this is such a powerful "red door/yellow door" moment!! Thank you so much for sharing!! What an incredible way to stumble on a career path that you are totally brilliant at, and enjoy so much!
The red door I thought I wanted was a PhD in biophysics. Viet Nam required a pivot and the university was not welcoming a return. So I ended up in air pollution control, environmental compliance and industrial hygiene. I got to use science and technology to help people and bonus, I got to see firsthand how many things were made, from steel to glass to oil to semiconductors and nanomaterials. The yellow door turned out to be as brilliant as the sun.
Wow, what a fascinating journey John, thank you for sharing! I love this: "The yellow door turned out to be as brilliant as the sun." Thank you for your military service, too. I'm so glad that you were able to pivot into such a fascinating field! And where you also got to help others—what a gift to the world you are :) ❤️🙏☺️
My red door was entry to a School Psychology program in Syracuse. I was an alternate, and the spot didn’t open up. That left me with two options: another graduate program at Georgia where my partner didn’t have entry, or the Behavioral Science program at Auburn University. I hardly knew what Behavior Analysis was all about, but my trail angel was a professor who convinced me to give it a go, I could always leave after my Masters degree. He ended up becoming my advisor, and I found organizational psychology here - a field I didn’t even know existed.
I think about that sliding door, me languishing in the school environment with so little prospects for growth, wow. What a yellow door that was!!!
Totally forgot to reply to this, but just wanted to say this is such a powerful "red door/yellow door" moment!! Thank you so much for sharing!! What an incredible way to stumble on a career path that you are totally brilliant at, and enjoy so much!
The red door I thought I wanted was a PhD in biophysics. Viet Nam required a pivot and the university was not welcoming a return. So I ended up in air pollution control, environmental compliance and industrial hygiene. I got to use science and technology to help people and bonus, I got to see firsthand how many things were made, from steel to glass to oil to semiconductors and nanomaterials. The yellow door turned out to be as brilliant as the sun.
Wow, what a fascinating journey John, thank you for sharing! I love this: "The yellow door turned out to be as brilliant as the sun." Thank you for your military service, too. I'm so glad that you were able to pivot into such a fascinating field! And where you also got to help others—what a gift to the world you are :) ❤️🙏☺️