Bahhhh Jellies!

One final down, one (take home) to go. I was discussing this with a friend yesterday, but I wish my particular institution had a more...formal way of celebrating the end of the year. At my undergrad institution, there was a midnight breakfast and a dance party in the library among other things. Anyways...

My orals have been officially scheduled for June 6. I haven't thought about it yet due to the previously mentioned take home final, but I'm feeling confident that I'll be well-prepared. It was comforting to go over possible topics with my advisor and realize that I've learned everything at one point - it's just a matter of refreshing my memory.

For some fun marine science, Look what's been washing up on the beach! Cannonball jellies!

Now, I openly admit that I'm not a fan of jellies. I hate the idea of something causing so much pain without the awareness to think "Hey, there's something in my way; I'll move away". Although I can't lie, I really wanted to pick one up.

At the end...

Welp, here we go. Somehow within the tests and assignments, late night outs, and Spring Break, I've failed to realize until this week that my semester ends this month :/ That's exciting, yet scary at the same time. Luckily, I've gotten a lot of things out of the way, so all I have to focus on until finals are presentations for both of my classes. But then there's finals....and then orals....and then starting my thesis project....I want to complete my orals next month, but the thought is terrifying me. I mean honestly, would you want to stand in front of your committee being grilled on marine biology for over an hour? But that's what I signed up for. Everyone that I've personally seen go through the process has passed with flying colors (who came up with that phrase anyways? Flying colors?) so I have to convince myself that I'll succeed too!

My thesis presentation went well. Not to brag, but I'm usually pretty good with presentations. I practice, I know not to sit there and read my PowerPoint, I keep my slides simple, I look people in the eye and speak clearly. Not this time. I had other things going on in the same week, so I was severely unprepared and it showed. But people still said I did well, and it's over, so I can't complain too much.

I'm still in the process of completing my official committee form and will then set up orals. Let the fun begin!



Speaking of fun...Oceanography lab cruise!



Milestones Galore!

Oh boy, once again it's been too long since I've written here. I have reached another milestone in my career - I officially have a thesis committee! In addition to my advisor, I have three other committee members who will help me out. I have two toxicologists, an ecologist, and a physiologist on my committee. This gives me an opprotunity to discuss how one should choose committee members:

Sometimes it's just logical for someone to be on your committee, either for technicality or other reasons. The ecologist is on my committee because he is on the grant proposal and will be helping with preliminary data collections. Another is on my committee because he is in the same lab group as my advisor and helped me come up wih thesis ideas. Other times it's about comfort and knowing someone. My last committee member is my former internship mentor. I know him very well and I know how he works. Additionally, my four members together make a well-rounded group with different but relevent areas of knowledge. I have heard suggestions of putting people on your committee with experience in the field and/or in your program. This could be especially helpful if your advisor doesn't have much experience or is new to the program.

I hope everyone had/is having/will have a great Spring Break! My breaks will be limited after this year, so a couple of friends and I went all out and took a cruise! I enjoyed visiting new countries like Honduras and Belize. I also got in plenty of snorkeling and we completed a SNUBA excursion. SNUBA is like SCUBA, except your tank is on a float at the surface and you are attached to it with a long hose. Therefore, no certification needed!

Next things on my list - present my thesis project in seminar and (gasp!) schedule my orals.

Confessions of an Oyster Lover?

So the past week has been busy as far as meeting with people and trying to finalize my thesis project. Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, I officially have a thesis project and advisor! The upsides? I've accepted a research assistantship that includes summer funding (which I had been pulling my hair over for the past two weeks) and I'm working on tying physiological and/or behavioral components into my project. The one downside? I'm working on clams and oysters. Yes, no fishies for me :( I decided that something had to give, and given all the good that comes with the project, I figured I could be lenient with the test organism. So far I know that I'll be completing a toxicology study; more details to come!

I have mixed feelings about giving up my TAship. On the one hand, I'm relieved to be rid of spending hours looking at lessons and dealing with many of my students. I'm tired of planning entire days around traveling to teach. On the other hand, I've had some amazing students and they're pretty entertaining. Oh well, now the TAship can go to someone who needs it.

Lately I've been finding a niche that's not related to my program. It's the Graduate Open Alliance, a new organization for LGBT grad students. It's been a bit difficult getting things off the ground, but I'm so excited about what we have planned for this semester. I'm the secretary this year, and it's the first time I've had such a huge role in an organization. On Friday we had a social trip to the gay club for a drag show, which is always so much fun! I love my marine biology friends, but it's nice to also have people who understand another side of me.

Well, off to bed soon for my Oceanography test!

Decisions decisions

Now that my classes are less intense, I can focus on another highly important aspect of graduate life - choosing an advisor and a project. I started talking to people last semester but finals and projects got in the way. My program is decently unique in that you have a year to find a project. In most other programs (including the other three that I applied to), you must find an advisor before you are accepted into the program, or even before you can apply. Personally, I like being able to walk over to labs and meet with people after class; it doesn't involved a huge trip on top of senior year of college. I did know that there were many faculty members who I'd be interested in working with, so at least I started school knowing I'd be happy in someone's lab.

Of course, the big thing right now is money and funding. This is where you must find a balance and decide what is more important for you - a funded project or a project you love. If you're super lucky, your project will fit both categories. I have seen a few projects that were funded, but did not interest me. As I will be working on this project for the next two years, I was not too keen on that idea.

My program has also been great in that it has allowed and pushed me to explore options that I wouldn't have considered before. Part of my required curriculum includes a seminar introducing first years to the program and the grad school process. Last semester, this seminar mostly involved bringing in people with projects and/or funding for students. The class exposed me to faculty members I would never have seen otherwise. Equally important, it made me realize that some projects were not as exciting to me as I imagined. I slowly started to open up my mind and consider new avenues. I entered the program focued on fish physiology, but now I have talked to people about parasitology and toxicology. I can still work with fish for either projects, but I would never have considered these topics before. The amount of knowledge that is still out there in this field is mind-blowing, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!

Like a Smack in the Face

As I prepare to return to school this weekend, I feel like it's an appropriate time to look back on my first semester of grad-level academics. I had to take physiology, ecology, and a seminar. Overall, I learned many things

1. I like physiology much more than ecology...sorry, it's the truth. My mind is just better at working through equations. However, I do love field and lab work, which made both classes worth it.
2. Yea, you know how as you move up each level of education you're told that no one will hold your hand, but they really do? Yea...that actually ends at this level. There will always be people ready and willing to help, but not unless you reach out to them. No one will try to stay on top of your reading or problem sets - it's up to you to decide what's worth doing, especially if you have another job (teaching, lab work, etc). After failing both of my first tests, I definitely started studying for exams earlier and more often with my classmates. Which gets into my next point...
3. An F really isn't the end of the world....OK, an F in an entire class is, but one test or assignment does not define you unless you let it. If you continue to produce F work, then yea you're done. If you say "OK, I effed up, time to straighten up" then you'll be fine.
4. I became one of those people who studies for hours on end for finals...try 12 hours straight, with two breaks for food :/ And I came very close, but somehow managed to not pull an all-nighter....still all-nighter free! (OK, so I actually did try and gave up at 3am...whatever)
5. It really helps to develop a thick skin, so that when professors put you down you can brush it off and fix whatever is wrong and move on with life (or at least hold off on the tears until you're alone).
6. It helps to have someone/thing outside of your school life, otherwise you'll go nuts. For many of my fellow cohorts, it's dancing or working out or playing a sport...I'm working on making working out one of those releases. This past semester, it's been my amazing roommate who has absolutely nothing to do with my grad school life. We vent about our school/work lives and then bond over life stories and Jersey Shore. It's a beautiful friendship.
7. Despite all the crying, hair-pulling, and curses at various objects and people, it's all worth it if you truly love what you do. I mean seriously, I've spent classes at the beach and on boats, how awesome is that?! It has even led me to my new mantra/saying - "I play in the water like it's my job" :D

Benthic sampling in Ecology lab.

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year to y'all! Hoping that everyone had a good 2010 and is looking forward to all that 2011 can offer!

My first semester was definitely a learning experience - learning to be more independent, learning to be less of a student and more of a scientist. So here are my science-related goals for 2011:
- Find a thesis project that will make me happy and fulfilled (OK that one is more of a requirement but whatever)
- Take my classes a bit more seriously so I'm not stressing out over grades come May
- Join a society so I can get myself out into the scientific community

Oh, and while I'm here, some good news - my internship paper was published!
Read all about it!