Summer is winding down, and it is about to get REAL. No
doubt about being frustrated on managing the demands of interdisciplinary work
as graduate students, but graduate school work and life sure will be more
demanding. I learned a great deal of useful information on financial
management, the importance community building and reach out, funding streams,
advisor relationship, and more. My SPI experience is captured in this quote,
“providing that there is a problem to be solve often requires more research and
more critical ability than solving it” Booth et all p. 282. I spent lots of time and energy to just specify
my independent research question for it to be unique and manageable. Coming to
that step sure is rewarding. I am ready to take my independent study to the
next level. I am glad I had this summer to get to know a professor who is
willing to take me under his wings and mentor me through another research
experience, from research proposal to publishing, if it all goes well.
Sometimes, it is important to celebrate small victories in life. For me, I completed my independent
study proposal and developed research question which is about “diaspora volunteerism” and it’s impact on career development of returning volunteers.
What is your small
victory this summer? Feel free to share!!!
Thanks,
Bijoux
Bijoux,
ReplyDeleteI like your small victory comment. I surely agree that we have to cherish small learning moments. I am glad to hear that you were able to learn something from your experiences here in Illinois. I wish you all the best and I hope we can keep in touch.
Best,
Lisa
My small victory... well, actually this one is huge: Being brave enough to start over and re-route when I saw that the path wasn't the one I wanted. I'm 28 now and starting over is a daunting idea. I left a lot behind in order to be here and I'm still dealing with those emotions. When it comes to my research... I'm making good progress: it's funny that I've checked out three separate batches of books and didn't get to the "right" ones until my last try. It would seem that this summer's research is a metaphor for life: trial and error. And "try, try, try again." My research will carry on into the fall.
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