This lesson is one that I got from one of my advisors and mentors at the University of Michigan. He said to me very plainly, “Begin with the End in Mind.” This adage is one that applies to grad school as a whole, but can be useful to any of the many facets of the process. Read more about Grad School Lesson #6: Begin with the End in Mind[…]
Going to conferences takes a LOT of time, and let’s be honest, sometimes it is not worth all of the trouble! I prefer to present at every conference I attend, except under 3 conditions. I will go as a pure consumer of knowledge if 1) it is local, 2) there is something or someone there Read more about Grad School Lesson #5: Conference, but not too much[…]
Grad school is more than just time consuming, it is thought consuming. You are supposed to think deeply all of the time! I needed something else to do besides watch entire seasons of Malcolm in the Middle or Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Something that would work parts of my brain that were not getting exercised Read more about Grad School Lesson #4: Get a Hobby (that isn’t school related)[…]
Hear me with both ears when I say this, get some mentors. More than one. More than two. Very senior faculty mentors are great, they hold the history of your field, the department, the school, etc… They speak from experience. Semi-senior faculty are great, they are on committees, actively conferencing and publishing, they write grants Read more about Grad School Lesson #3: Mentors are EVERYTHING[…]
My mother shared this gem with me at some point in high school. I was struggling through college essays and AP Lit papers and I did not want her help. She reminded me that published writers have editors, and that the best writers have great editors. Have someone edit your work. Use a variety of Read more about Grad School Lesson #2: The Best Writers have Great Editors[…]
As I reflect on my graduate school career I think, “wow! what a ride!”. There are many things I that I did well, many things that I did well enough, and many things that did not go so well. Here is a short reflection of my lessons learned from my perspective as a newly minted Read more about Grad School Lessons from Dr. Hope[…]