My current T wrote a book about the shadow side of therapy and one of the chapters talks about the subconscious motives for entering the profession that we need to be aware of. I think if I'm totally honest, part of my motivation for training to be a therapist was probably heavily influenced by first therapist and perhaps I harboured some fantasy of becoming his colleague.
I have found that the desire to learn has outlived the desire to be close to T1 and so I think my reasons for starting on this learning journey run much deeper than the loss I experienced.
You are still grieving, continue to have patience with yourself, and also enjoy all that the experience that learning has to offer. It's hard not to overthink the link it has to your former therapist but I hope you gain lots from this new opportunity too.