academic rewards

I'm having one of those moments where I feel good to be pursuing my Master's degree ... besides the feeling of getting accolades from a professor, an A on a paper/exam, but a connection that maybe the research or homework I'm doing actually means something. Researching my paper on Bangladesh and terrorism I came upon an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, "Islamist vs. Democracy"; although I didn't pay any attention to the author until I started typing up the citation and I recognized her as someone from UVA ... someone I had even shared a meal with or two. It's like the time I realized the guy living in my condo was also with me at Camp David--receiving kudos from my old college professor and professional career advisor, Bill Quandt, and that my old client's son was someone I travelled around Paris with one summer, going to jazz shows and checking out the caberets along with other Wahoo-ligans. I suppose it's more a people connection ... who knows if this paper I'm doing will see anyone else's eyes except for my professor's ... but I have a feeling maybe if I contact Ms. Hossein she might have some interesting opinions about it.