Cygnet Dreamforge
Where Dreams Are Made
Brad Swan - Founder
“You are going to struggle if you don’t stay sharp and stick to your studies.”
That was the warning from my undergraduate research advisor. I was graduating at the time, and I had elected to explore industry with my newly minted bachelor’s degree instead of immediately pursuing a doctorate.
“I don’t recommend it,” he cautioned about leaving the academic track, back in 2011. My advisor knew that I wanted to become a professor – to teach and inspire young and developing scientists, to continue studying and learning about the intricacies of chemical behavior and the natural world, and to pursue a scholastic life well into my elder years. Having tutored for his organic chemistry class during my sophomore and junior years, I had tasted the satisfaction of imparting complex knowledge. I relished helping struggling students break through to a higher level of understanding. I was hooked.
Not deterred, I returned to Drake University as a laboratory instructor, intending to resharpen my skills before a shift to graduate school. I was so grateful for the opportunity to work at my alma mater, and I thrived in the position. I attended lectures alongside the classes I was instructing, gave supplementary instruction of the lecture content, and further developed my skills as an educator and a scientist. Eventually, I discussed my continuing education goals with the faculty and sought their support for another round of graduate school applications. “How very empirical of you,” came the sly, knowing response from one of my former chemistry professors when I explained the trajectory of my academic and career path. With my skills honed once more and the support of my department, I reapplied to several graduate programs. I wasn’t accepted to any of them.
I took on a couple of contracts shortly after graduating at well-established companies back home in Minnesota. I found the work lacked the luster and the stimulation of my time in academia. After those short stints, I settled into a rewarding position with the opportunity to train employees for a fast-growing corporation. The money was good, I excelled in my position, and I loved the chance to teach people how to be successful in their new jobs. Despite it, I yearned for my original goal: a return to academia, the pursuit of a doctorate, and a future in education at a collegiate level. Ultimately, I was inspired to make that return by one of my former trainees, who (bless her heart) would later become my wife. I left my position as a corporate trainer and took up independent studies before applying to several graduate programs. I wasn’t accepted to any of them.
“You’ll need to earn your doctorate if you want to profess,” my advisor stressed. I understood as much, but I was self-sure, and I wanted to understand what a bachelor’s degree afforded me – so I could start paying down my debts and mentor future students who wanted to go into the work force or were on the fence about graduate school.
Essay Submission for Wayne G. Basler Award
“You are going to struggle …”
I redoubled my efforts. I audited a quantum mechanics course, I traveled to meet with faculty at prospective programs whose research interests aligned well with my own, and I set my sights on another round of applications. I was determined to continue my education, even as a return proved increasingly challenging. I was just scheduling fresh readiness exams when a novel virus came along and flipped the world on its head. Adjusting to remote instruction was intellectual whiplash, but it afforded new opportunities to explore media that would otherwise have been dismissed for laboratory instruction. It helped me appreciate values of in-person education that I had taken for granted, and it demonstrated the importance of flexibility for the sake of student learning. The world had changed. My world had changed. Already a father since 2018, my wife and I welcomed a second child to the world in the summer of 2021. My wife began dropping hints. “Maybe it’s time we move back home. Settle down.”
Then, just two weeks after my daughter was born, I received an invitation. I met with a prior faculty member here at Iowa State and got the offer that I had pursued for so long: graduate research assistantship in the Material Science and Engineering department, provided a follow-up application proved sufficient upon review. I still have the acceptance letter among my keepsakes – a five-year journey to return to scholastics, now realized and recorded in ink.
My time here at Iowa State has been so much more than I ever expected. My advisor’s cautionary advice continued to ring true: my first semester of graduate classwork in the spring of 2022 was the greatest challenge of my academic life, and I found myself on academic probation after coming up short by a half letter grade. It humbled me. It shook me. I dug in and recalibrated; I poured myself into the studies and the literature, I committed myself to embracing and embodying the coursework in all its complexity and diversity, and I was rewarded. My grades rose, I made a major breakthrough in my research, and this past spring I celebrated a successful preliminary examination with my colleagues and advisor.
As I look ahead to the future, I remain resolved in my goal: I want to become a professor. In case it’s not already clear, though, I plan to do it my way. I want to go out into industry again, this time with the wisdom and experience of my graduate studies and all that came before them. I want to see what problems are facing this world and the people and solutions that are allied against them. I want to innovate in response to the climate crisis, to create new and better materials to address the needs of both aging and ascendant generations, and to help guide others as they seek to do the same. I want to take all that experience in and carry it with me.
I have struggled. I am succeeding. I will continue struggling, but that only encourages me. My time as a student and as an educator has taught me the simplest but most poignant lesson of all: one does not grow without struggling. The very nature of learning and development is to become what you are not; to advance yourself beyond what is comfortable and to welcome failure as a source of insight and a marker of improvement. Easy victory would be hollow. The quick way out would be a disservice to oneself. I am better – each of us is better – for the struggles we have faced and the failures we have overcome.
I will become a professor someday. Ideally in the 2030s, but maybe the early 2040s. Regardless, I’ll get there, even if I have to bend over backwards to make it happen. I am so excited to share what I’ve learned with the bright minds of the future. I hope to inspire young scientists to appreciate and explore the secrets of our universe and to pursue their own goals and careers. I will make sure to teach the importance of safety, sustainability, and responsibility so that good habits survive and future generations enjoy the same prosperity that we have. I will strive to cultivate success in others the way that all those who have supported and empowered me have done before.
Above all, I will encourage students to struggle – to rage against complacency.