<p>I would like to buy a small gift for a male PhD graduate. He was a volunteer coach for a very time-consuming EC that my S participated in, throughout his 4 years in college, and was a big positive influence in S’s college life. He is finishing his PhD at the same time that S is finishing undergrad, and has a great job lined up - a tenure track faculty position at a state flagship U.</p>
<p>Any ideas? The only idea I could come up with is a frame for his diploma, but the nice ones with the University name and logo on it are quite expensive, >$100. (And I already got one of those for S’s graduation.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. A picture is a good idea, but S is not the picture taking type, so I somewhat doubt that he would have one, but I can ask.</p>
<p>Levenger and m.lahart have nice things like commemorative boxes, engraved julep cups, Jefferson cups, pens, pencil sets, portfolios,leather pocket briefcase for notes and index cards,etc. My kids have their engraved things on their desks. An engraved julep cup can hold pens or an engraved Jefferson cup can hold coins or paper clips for instance.</p>
<p>It sounds like this person was very important in your son’s life. I would probably look at something more personal than a gift card in this kind of situation. Congratulations to your son on his graduation.</p>
<p>I think a combination of something personal, such as a note or card from your S, and something that would enable him to indulge a bit, such as a gift card, would be great. Most young men are not particularly into accumulating possessions </p>
<p>That really depends on the guy. My sons and nephew all enjoyed personal gifts . My older son got an engraved compass for his high school graduation. We didn’t get my younger son anything like that and he noticed. So we got him engraved things and framed prints for his college graduation last year,all of which he displays in his first apartment. We got my nephew something personal and his dad said it was the first thing he packed to take to college. We did also get him a gift card for his campus bookstore . Gift cards are great as well, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>That is so true-from having a sense of what gift card they like to what gift they might enjoy. My default gift card tends to be Amazon since you can get so many different kinds of things with it. For people who like to travel, leather passport cases ,etc. Yes, it really is a matter of knowing the recipient . Some people just want the cash !</p>
<p>How about a gift certificate that he would use in his new city? A gift certificate to a fancy cheese shop or other specialty food store, a nice restaurant (I’d only do that if he has a SO or knows people in the new place so he would have a dinner companion), museum membership, theater or concert tickets.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions. It’s hard for me to select since I don’t actually know him very well. But I still want to given a token recognition to thank him for all the mentoring he has done for my S over the last 4 years, both in and outside of the EC. </p>
<p>Is this idea too silly? A t-shirt or mug that says “Not that kind of doctor”. I came across it during an internet search for Phd gift, and think that it is funny. </p>
<p>The humor kind of reminds me of the t-shirts popular at WUSTL (which is the graduation school), where the front says “Wash U” and the back says “It’s in St. Louis, dammit”, which my S and his friends just love.</p>
<p>That’s a cute idea for a mug, maybe with an Anazon gift card–always useful. Photo of him and your S in a frame with a heartfelt letter from your S is still something he’d treasure. </p>