UTCS Golden Turtle award
The Golden Turtle is awarded to the longest-tenured CS Ph.D. student.
When the current holder of the turtle graduates, it is passed down at the Ph.D. hooding ceremony.
When Katie Dahm sends us the list of students who have possibly been the longest-tenured PhD students, we need to check with them whether they happen to know which one of them is really the longest-tenured. The other thing to check is whether the recipient will be present at the hooding ceremony.
Sample email to the possible candidates
Hello XXX and YYY,
According to our records, the two of you are next in line as the recipient for the prestigious Golden Turtle award and trophy.
The first question we would like to ask is if either of you know for a certainty that the other one is more entitled to get the award (i.e. if one or the other has actually been a graduate student for more years, or if one has made better progress than the other, etc). If all things are equal, then would either or both of you be available for the hooding ceremony this semester? We would optimally like the handoff to take place at that time.
Best of luck, GRACS
