I’ve finished my third quarter as part of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI). Here are my continuing reflections on this amazing year of study and reflection.
If you are looking at my site for the first time, here’s a description of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI) and me, Kathy Payne.
What was different about this quarter?
The spring weather was wonderful, although the weather was somewhat erratic. It would be 90 degrees one day and in the low 60s the next. You get used to having layers with you at all times in northern California. I took a lot fewer classes this spring quarter, so I had more time for white space- such as informal gatherings and the ability to relax more. I completed my Life Transformation Reflection which was hard and important for me personally- it’s hard to put into presentation form what transformative moments in your life made you who you are. It takes a lot of vulnerability and self-reflection. I think it is one of the unique things that makes this program so compelling. I am sad that the year is almost over.
What classes did I take this quarter?
I took 6 classes plus continued in my book club on “The Meaning of Life” and with my personal trainer. It’s hard to say no to all the interesting classes to take and things to do here, but I did a much better job of balancing that this quarter. After being such a goal oriented and over-scheduled person your entire life, it’s a challenge to slow down and learn to define productivity differently.
For Spring Quarter, I took 3 undergrad classes, 1 Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) class, 1 Stanford DCI only class and 1 Stanford continuing education classes. I loved all my classes again!
Additionally, every Tuesday night we continue to meet as a DCI group and hear a guest lecture from a different Stanford professor each week. At these meetings, one or two people in our class present a twenty or thirty-minute presentation called a Life Transformation Reflection (LTR). These are always very powerful and moving presentations on something meaningful and transformative in their life. As noted above, I completed my LTR—I’m glad I did it and I’m also glad it’s over!
Here are short descriptions of my classes:
- The American West. This class met 2x a week and was taught by four legendary Stanford Professors: David Kennedy (History; Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for History), David Freyberg (Civil and Environmental Engineering; a hydrologist and water resource expert), Shelly Fishkin (English literature; expert in Mark Twain) and Bruce Cain (Political Science; Dir. of the Bill Lane Center for the American West). This class was phenomenal. I learned so much about the American West from the perspectives of these four professors- Water (it’s a huge issue out West and the water rights are so different than the East), Literature (Prof. Fishkin explored the literature of the West from the perspective of many minority voices who have not been heard from or listened to enough); the politics of the West and how the West’s origins influence that; and the history of the West- from Native American culture, the building of the railroad, the gold rush and the impact/magnitude of federal land ownership in the West. I never understood the significance of the 100th meridian until now! Everything to the West of that is truly dramatically different than the rest of the U.S.
- Understanding Russia. This class met 2x a week and was taught by Prof. Kathryn Stoner. Again, amazing class. Prof. Stoner is an expert on Russia and the Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. I learned so much about the history of Russia and Putin’s trajectory and power in that country. We had several Russian and Ukrainian students in our class, and it was fascinating to hear their perspectives on the current war and its impacts on Russia and Ukraine. I have a much better understanding of this huge nation and its impact on the world.
- The Law and the Brain. This class was an undergrad class taught by a neuroscientist David Eagleman who is a Stanford professor and also runs the non-profit Center for Science and Law, which seeks to align the legal system with modern neuroscience. The class was co-taught by Octavio Choi, who is an interventional and forensic neuropsychiatrist on the Stanford faculty. This was a new class taught by Professors Eagleman and Choi and I really enjoyed it. It met one time a week for 3 hours and explored various cases and readings on how the law treats those with mental illness accused of heinous crimes and how neuroscience impacts such cases. Super interesting and informative.
- Into the River. Like my Redwoods class and Dunes class that I took in the Fall and Winter quarters, this class was taught at the O’Donoghue Family Farm which is an actual organic farm on Stanford’s campus (which is also called “The Farm”). This fact added to the unusual and calming nature of the class- learning outside while butterflies floated by, and birds chirped—as spring returned to campus. In this class we explored how our roots (childhoods, stories we’ve learned or told ourselves as we grow up) form who we are, but then often no longer serve us. We focused on integrating our internal and external lives. We spent a weekend retreat in Philo, California where the theme of the retreat was death. I know, right?!? But, seriously, contemplating death makes you think deeply about how you want to live your life right now! As part of this class, we all had to choose a “courage project” that we want to bring to fruition that integrates skills we have with something we’ve never done before that will leave a legacy for others. More to come on that as it evolves.
- Negotiating in Sports and the Media. I took this class at the Stanford Business school (everyone here calls it Stanford GSB). I know you’re thinking- isn’t that what you did with your entire career Kathy? And, yes, that is what I did for most of my career. But I thought it would be interesting to see how Stanford GSB teaches negotiation and to see/be involved in the different case studies. The class was taught by three Stanford GSB professors: George Foster (who has also been really involved teaching the WICT Stanford yearly program that I helped start when I was the Chair of the WICT Board- small world), Parag Marathe (who is also the President of the San Francisco 49ers) and Sam Hinkie (a former NBA General Manager). The class was super sports focused, but there were also some interesting cases on general entertainment media rights. I really enjoyed it. I got to work on teams with various undergrad and GSB students. It was super interesting, and it made me think that I might like to teach a class like that myself one day.
- iPhoneography. This continuing ed class was taught by Yoni Mayeri. I learned some great tips for taking better photos on my iPhone. I was so busy though and traveling when the class was taught, that I must say I didn’t give it my full attention and caught up a lot via recorded zoom sessions which is not the same thing as taking it live.
- Book Club on the Meaning of Life. We continued our Meaning of Life Book Club. We read three intense books (The Remains of the Day, The Fall and The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and discussed the Meaning of Life and questions posed in all three books. Fascinating discussions.
What did we do for fun?
Sometimes it seems like the better question is what didn’t we do? We are always on the go. We have countless dinners at great restaurants in the area. We spent a weekend in Big Sur and one in Sonoma. We went moonlight kayaking in Sausalito. We hosted a fun wine tasting and dinner for both our DCI class of 2020 as well as the DCI class of 2021 who we have overlapped with for 2 quarters (our class was delayed because of Covid). Another group hosted a fabulous Mardi Gras party with a Zydeco band. We visited the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University in Monterey Bay, CA. We continue to hike a lot on the weekends. We went to Hawaii for break after the Spring quarter, although our trip got delayed because I finally came down with Covid. Luckily my case was mild, and we were able to reschedule our trip for a week later.
What’s my big takeaway so far?
I am incredibly lucky to have had this year in California. I’ve learned so much about myself and the world. I’ve learned to reprioritize and redefine productivity. However, the news and recent political and court decisions are demoralizing and depressing, not to mention the looming climate crises. But I must remember to breathe and change what I can to help. Two of my colleagues, Laura di Bonaventura and Katie Vogelheim, gave a presentation on climate change that stuck with me. One of their big messages was that we don’t have to become experts on climate—we just need to pay more attention, become attuned to the world and make the small changes we control to make a difference, e.g., sign up for climate updates/blogs, eat less meat, compost, carry your own water bottle, and donate to organizations that are helping the environment and wildlife. I’m trying to adopt this philosophy with regard to other issues I passionately want to change, like election reform and women’s rights.
I’m looking forward to our final summer quarter. I’ll update this blog once that is complete and we are on our way home to Atlanta.
Thank you for reading!
A Year at Stanford 