“My participation in Designing an Extraordinary Career could not have come at a better time (unless it had been much earlier in my life!). At the time of the first session, I was working on a grant proposal for submission to the NIH. That first day, we considered ways in which we limited ourselves — and I realized that one of my limitations was in the “safe” questions I addressed in my research program. After this single session, I felt empowered to ask much larger questions, and added a new specific aim to my proposal. That aim was the best received of the three in that project, and helped it receive an excellent score. I also recently headed a multi-PI project grant, which I would not have had the confidence to tackle, had I not had the experience of the course. Overall, the well-structured process not only raised my awareness of limitations and obstacles to success, but provided practical exercises to help tackle and overcome these one by one.”
