I am deeply honored to receive this award. In looking over the list of previous awardees, I realized I have had the privilege to have had seven, as my mentors and teachers. Each one had an important role in my education.

Dr. L. Emmett Holt Jr. (1966 Howland Awardee) was a quiet, soft-spoken, and wise person, who rarely gave advice. I was, therefore, surprised when, in 1952, I told him I intended to specialize in the care of premature infants, and his comments were, “That's an odd choice. You can't make a living doing that.” I later learned that he gave similar advice to Bill Tooley and Stan James when they were in their residency at Bellevue Hospital. I ended up following my heart and not his advice.

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