A Thriving, Growing Legacy

Thank you for this article. My husband and I are Class of ’96. When we were at our 20th reunion, we visited Marue Walizer, former director of the Teacher Prep program and a dear friend and mentor. She had an Einstein begonia and a cutting was on the windowsill, which she offered to me. Even more so than the novelty of it being from Einstein, the deep meaning was that it was from her, one of my educators. She was able to name the women it came from, back to Helen Dukas. It was four removed from Einstein. We drove the cutting back to Nashville, in 100+ degree weather, where I was at the time a program director for the surgery residency. It thrived. I have the original which I have potted and repotted every year and have another 20 plants probably within our home, various shapes and sizes. I began to give it to our chief residents on graduation. Fast forward to today. Here in Nashville, the Einstein begonia thrives. I’ve given away over 300 cuttings — to students, residents, program directors, colleagues, hospital staff who love and appreciate plants, relatives, to friends who have traveled on beyond Nashville. I encourage others to keep track of whom they give it to and to know why. Probably the most meaningful was when I gave a cutting to one of my own mentors, a senior surgeon. Years later, when he passed away, I was at visitation in his son’s home, and there was an Einstein begonia, thriving. This is truly a wonderful legacy that reminds us of the permanence of so much beyond us. At least weekly, a former colleague, mentee, student, resident, friend, sends a photo of their cutting to remind me that it is thriving, as hopefully they are too. Thank you.