In 2009 I was applying to grad schools and was a complete nobody shmuck. I was walking through MIT on a grad student visit and we went past the offices of both

In 2009 I was applying to grad schools and was a complete nobody shmuck. I was walking through MIT on a grad student visit and we went past the offices of both Gil Strang and Sigurdur Helgason and I told the grad student guide that I just had to give it a try to say hello. Not only did Gil Strang say hi, to some totally random nobody, but he invited me into his office, asked me about my undergrad studies (he even knew one of my undergrad professors well), and said a lot of nice and encouraging things about sticking with mathematics and finding a career. Siggy Helgason wasn’t in, unfortunately, but I remember Gil Strang referred to him as “the national hero of Iceland” and said I should say hi to him too since I was interested in differential geometry. What a guy! So gracious with his time in a way that too few academics are (which ended up being part of why I quit a PhD program about 4 years after that talk with Gil Strang and started working instead).