David Parkes, Dean of Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), never thought about what would come next. When he was at school in Cheshire, he didn't have his eye on doing A-levels. When he was doing A-levels, I wasn't thinking about going to University. Through a combination of hard work, mentorship, luck, and circumstance Parkes navigated his way from small-town boy to celebrated researcher, educator, and Dean of Harvard SEAS. His personal experience influenced his perspective on the range of acceptable approaches to the academic experience.