The last 15 months have not been easy on us and the world. For a “family” that considers resilience a signature strength, our “grit” has sorely been tested. 

However, during our “quarantine,” we said goodbyes to the “Resilient ”PREP17”, who went on to their next destinations for graduate studies, welcomed the “RogerThat” PREP18 and IMSD trainees, our largest to date, of 13 scholars, and the “PREP/IMSD family” including our current scholars, alumni, and mentors achieved significant milestones. The highlights of “Our Yays!” of recent include several PhD completions, now totaling 81, awards won and grants received including PREP alum Dr. Leah Guthrie’s selection as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Hanna Gray Fellow, our first. Our alums started prestigious jobs or changed to even bigger ones and were at the front lines of the pandemic work. Two faculty mentors, both long term members of our PREP/IMSD “family”, were promoted to VT’s highest honor for a faculty, University Distinguished Professor. As we prepare to say goodbye to our pandemic cohort of PREP scholars, we hope they will stay safe and you will too. We look forward to a time when we will all again gather together and celebrate successes and share best approaches that help our trainees and community continue to thrive.