Before there were cell phones and before I had a telephone in my office at the university,Jim would say, "You passed the test, Marj. Miss Eikerman telephoned you at home last night and you were at school in the studio working." My mentor, Professor Alma Eikerman, and I stayed in contact for all the years after I finished the Indiana University graduate jewelry program. Eikerman wrote frequently and sometimes called. Although I did not like to miss her calls, it was good that I was working. Along with teaching aesthetics, drawing,techniques, and jewelry history, she taught us about self-discipline and the importance of hard work. As graduate students, we kept time sheets of when we were in the studio and she checked them often.