Kyle D. Pruett, Clinical Professor of child psychiatry in the Child Study Center and School of Nursing, author of several award-winning books on parenting, international lecturer, pioneering researcher on children and primary caretaking fathers, and gifted musician (whose many musical accomplishments include former membership of the Yale Whiffenpoofs!) received the Lifetime Service Award this year. Considering the far-reaching impact of his work, Dr. Pruett is an inspiration for all CSC graduates. Dr. Pruett’s keynote address and lovely song captured the many sentiments that accompany a Child Study Center graduation: namely, the excitement and passion for embarking on a career dedicated to helping children and families, but also, as Dr. Pruett so eloquently discussed, the uncertainty that one has all skills and knowledge needed to deal with unforeseen challenges. The nurturing, formative training experience at the CSC can be best symbolized by Dr. Pruett’s concluding wishes, in the form of a song selected from the musical adaptation of Judith Viorst’s children’s book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”, that graduates experience more of “the sweetest of nights and finest of days” on the road ahead. Implicit in this wish, it seems, is Dr. Pruett’s confidence that CSC graduates will also be well-prepared to deal with the “terrible-horrible-no good-very-bad days” that will undoubtedly be confronted along the way. With this foundation, graduates will surely be able to do the same for the many children and families they encounter throughout their careers.
Submitted by Emily Hau on July 01, 2013