I am humbled and delighted to be this year's recipient of the Papa- nicolaou award. To quote our former first lady, ''It takes a village.'' In that spirit, I accept this award on behalf of my colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Johns Hopkins Medial Center, who have taught me the art of cytopathology, tolerated my personal flaws, challenged my philosophy of teaching and administering, and, most of all, nurtured me over the past 33 years. Two individuals no longer are alive to share this day, but they live in my soul-George Wied, my mentor, and Carole Williams, my professional refuge. If it were not for Dr. Wied, I would not be standing before you today. I was the only cytopathologist at UCLA when I started there, 2 years out of training. His mentoring was instrumental in my professional development. He opened doors for me, challenged me by raising the bar at achievable intervals, and comforted me if I did not reach our goals. Carole Williams came to work at UCLA in 1989, at the apex of an illustrious career as a cytotechnologist educator, but without a program to direct. Not only was it a period of great personal turmoil for me, but my research program also was jeopardized. The National Institutes of Health had ceased funding of all cytology automation programs. So, we converted my research laboratory into the school rooms for the Greater Los Angeles Consortium for Cytotechnology Training, and Willy continued to nurture and educate the next generation of cytotechnologists. Best of all, Willy's office was next to mine. She always was ready with a comforting ear and an appropriate joke to evoke genuine and healing laughter. Dr. Wied and Willy were unique, very different from each other in many ways. Yet, both of these giants had 1 thing in common: They were passionate about cytology. To them, I dedicate the thoughts that I will share with you today.
Rather than making a scientific presentation, I want to appeal to each of you to take stock of where the field of cytology is at this moment in time and make a decision about your role in its future. A former resident taught me an important mantra: ''Know where you are!'' This applies not only to the position of the needle during a fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) but also to your frame of mind and the condition of your body. Are you physically and men-