Lindsay joined CSE in November 2000.
Since then, she has
- processed 14,245 applications to the Ph.D. program,
- personally attended to the needs of 602 Ph.D. students,
- and provided more than 250,000 M&Ms (peanut and plain) to students, staff and faculty.
Lindsay, you have been a graduate advisor extraordinaire. We will miss you!
Please see the personal posts linked in the right-hand sidebar or check out the archives for all of the posts!
From: Kayur Patel
This is a huge loss for CSE. I was of the lucky 602 students under your watch. I took it for granted that you would be the one constant that guide culture at UW, helping lost students become better people. But everything change with time, and you probably need a vacation more than anyone. I hope you’ve got some awesome adventures lined up in retirement.
From: Adrien Treuille
Lindsay, you touched my life and that of countless other graduate students. On your watch, UW CSE became uniquely combination of computer science powerhouse and loving family. The two are intertwined and your role in both cannot be overstated. Thank you.
From: Ira Kalet
I nominate Lindsay as CSE Ambassador Emeritus to the UW at large. Lindsay, you have done so much to welcome and help the UW community beyond CSE to be involved. Helping students from other graduate programs to find appropriate CSE courses, promoting courses and seminars from other graduate programs that CSE students might be interested in, helping connect CSE students to research opportunities and RA positions in related fields, you have made UW a very special place where people work together and have fun. Personally, it has been a great pleasure working with you all these years, and you have made me feel welcome as a adjunct member of the CSE community. Thanks and best wishes.
From: Douglas Low
Thank you Lindsay for guiding all of the graduate students who came under your watch. You made it easy for students to concentrate on their studies and not have to deal with the various intricacies which might arise from degree program requirements.
Best wishes for the future!
From: S. Rose, CSE Technical Staff
The numbers are mighty, but LM’s contribution wasn’t notable for the quantity – it’s been all about the quality. Grad students have never been interchangeable for Lindsay – she had an uncanny ability to see right into the soul of a student and use that insight to guide them efficiently and caringly towards their professional and personal goals. There was nobody like her in the building, and I worry that there never will be again. And will I have to start buying my own M&Ms?
From: Ka Yee Yeung, CSE PhD. graduate in 2001
Lindsay, I’d like to wish you the best as you start your next adventure. You have been a wonderful advisor since Day 1. My graduate journey wouldn’t have been the same without your love and support. Your role is critical to those of us who sometimes get lost and need a hug in the (long) process of grad school. It was amazing to re-connect with you last year. It was even more amazing that you still remember me after all these days. Best wishes and have lots of fun!
Lindsay was of course the most amazing at meeting the individual needs of every student — whether in times of crisis or day-to-day. But for me probably the biggest adjustment of life post-Lindsay is somehow training myself to stop using the phrase, “I don’t know ask Lindsay.” As in, “can I sign up for that pass/fail?” “I don’t know, ask Lindsay.” “Do I need to have my GSR before I turn in this form?” “I don’t know, ask Lindsay.” “How do I find out the formatting requirements?” “I don’t know, ask Lindsay.” I’m not sure I’ve actually been listening to my grad students for the last 12 years ( 🙂 ) — why should I when the answer is always the same: “I don’t know, ask Lindsay.”
(Oh, I should have signed my name: Dan Grossman)
From Joel Cohn
Thank you Lindsay, for the care and compassion with which you have supported students (and faculty & staff, some of whom do not know to this day…). Your commitment and positive attitude have been a great example to me. Many people, and our dept. as a whole, have benefited greatly from your insight, wise counsel, long hours, and wealth of knowledge. Many blessings in this next season.
From: Aaron Bauer
You have been such a delightful friend and mentor. It was always fun, whether it was working together on visit days or hearing your great stories from the department’s past. I’m sad to see you go. Best wishes in all your future endeavors.
From Melody Kadenko
You are the one-stop-shopping for anything related to grad students when I have to figure out funding, status, non-traditional situations, etc. In other words, you’ve made my job easier! We’ve been very fortunate to have you in CSE. If I couldn’t answer any grad student questions, I knew sending them to you would result in answers or finding answers instead of sending them in circles. I will miss you. I wish you fun, relaxation, and joy in your future endeavors.
From: Victoria Lin
As an international transferred grad student, my life of moving to/at CSE couldn’t feel easier with Lindsay’s help, who almost always responds to your requests as fast as lightning. Not to mention the numerous she helped me preparing the employment proof (for visa related troubles), transferring course credits, etc.
I just want to say THANK YOU, and hope we can still bump into each other on the bus in the future 🙂
For faculty in roles such as Review-of-Progress Chair and Quals Chair, you’ve made it much more than a random service assignment, and it has become something to ask for. It has been a great pleasure working with you!
From: Bilge Soran
Lindsay, it has been a great pleasure to know you. I feel very lucky to have you in CSE during my PhD. Thank you for all the great chats and advices. I will miss you… Wish you the best!
From: Ivan Beschastnikh
I’ve been very fortunate to have graduated from CSE under Lindsay’s careful watch. CSE grads always knew that Lindsay had our backs: she built rapport with each and every one of us from day one. Lindsay was also our only steadfast supporter, the one who always put our interests first, and who never stopped being engaged with us as we puzzled our way through graduate school. Lindsay, thank you for your guidance and unwavering support. It meant a lot to me, and to every CSE grad I know. Have a fun retirement, you deserve it!
From: Greg Nelson
Lindsay, your knowledge and practical contributions in the operations of the department are only outmatched by the empathy, care, and wisdom that you’ve shared with your students and everyone else who has called CSE home. You make doing it look easy, but I’m sure it has been hard. I hope you find even more joy and fulfillment in your life as it changes.
From: Rahul Banerjee
Lindsay,
To me, you embody the culture of CSE — a unique blend of proficiency and compassion. I am richer for having known you and therefore consider myself lucky.
I hope your retirement gives you a chance to do the things you’ve wanted to, but weren’t able to.
I wish you the very best!
From: Rob Thompson
Lindsay, you always went above and beyond with every interaction I had with you. You even followed my little travel blog before I even became a proper student here. It probably ended up as more work for you but you were always the first person I thought of when I needed help, and that says a lot. Thank you so much.
From Valentin Razmov:
It is said that a person’s life can be measured by the impact that person has made on others.
Lindsay’s impact is immeasurable, however, because she has touched every one of us on so many levels, including as a trusted friend.
It is also said that in the end we forget what someone has done to/for us, but always remember how they have made us feel.
To enumerate all that Lindsay has done would be an arduous task even for a person with strong memory. To recall how she has made each of us feel is simple and sweet — always as someone special, someone who deserves her full attention, and who is treated with understanding and compassion.
My deepest gratitude to our Lindsay!
May she be blessed on her journey ahead!
Valentin
From Dan Suciu:
Dear Lindsay,
It was a privilege to work with you while I was a Graduate Program Coordinator. I always knew that you were a great advisor, who cared individually about each student, helping them both in their professional and also in their personal lives. What I didn’t know, before we started to work together, was that you is that you had, in your head, a better database of graduate students than our postgres database! You are role model of dedication and professionalism. We will all miss you… I wish you a great and happy retirement!
Dan
Link to video
A musical number dedicated to Lindsay, especially all of the new students that she has welcomed to the department and all of the old grads that she has listened to at Friday breakfast.
– the CSE grads
Dear Lindsay,
It is hard to add to what everyone else has said. Seeing you has made me understand what the job of a graduate advisor (and also research advisor) should be. The combination of compassion and knowing-all-the-details that you’ve shown is something I have an incredible amount of admiration for. Grad students show up trusting that their department will look out for them and your role in that has been really important. Working with you was one of the reasons I was grateful to have had my time at UW, and I hope you have a happy and fulfilling retirement.
-aram