It Wasn't a Big Mistake
Peggy Whitson on ignoring the beliefs of others and ending up where she wanted to be.
- I got my PhD in biochemistry at Rice University, in part because Rice was close to the Johnson Space Center, and I was offered a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute, which had a very prestigious laboratory and I called up that professor to tell him that I was going to take the fellowship at the Johnson Space Center, he said, "That's the biggest mistake you're making in your life." I knew it was a very prestigious offer, but I sure wished I'd had his phone number, I woulda called him from the Space Station and told him it wasn't really a big mistake at all for me. I ended up where I wanted to be.