Do you know how many days are left until I walk? FOUR.
FOUR DAYS.
I defended my thesis proposal yesterday (AND PASSED!!!!!!!), and am slated to defend my final thesis mid to late summer.
And then...
Guess what? I'll be done with school! Being someone who has thought she would be a lifelong student (Bridges program, anyone?), I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm SO excited to be almost finished! I'm so excited to go out in the "real world" (even though one of the professors whose students I tutor absolutely hates that term) and start making some real money (cause, ya know, campus debit isn't a real thing).
It's kind of hard to believe, since school has basically been all I've known growing up. I know it truly wasn't my parents' intention, but I always felt like I was in my sister's shadow, since she would make good grades, and then I felt like I had to meet or surpass her grades. To that extent, I think that's why our high school GPAs, SAT and AP scores were very similar, because I pushed myself so hard so I wouldn't "disappoint" my parents (they would've been proud of me either way).
College was really where I stopped feeling like I was in my sister's shadow, because we chose totally different fields of study, and we attended different schools. Even the schools put different emphasis on our fields. At Carolina, from my understanding, many Bio majors end up going to med school, so Bio is really competitive and the introductory classes are really ways to weed out the students who possibly wouldn't be able to make it in med school. At RIT, however, they encourage us to consider many different alternatives to med school (vet school, zoology, environmental science, ESHS, teaching, the possibilities are endless) so I truly enjoyed Biology. And then I started graduate school, and finally "got" just how many opportunities I had at my fingertips.
I've had to do a lot of thinking and reflection in the past few weeks, and I've just started to realize how much I've done in the six years I've been here at RIT, and the legacy I'm leaving. This may be a bit of a humblebrag, but I truly didn't realize until I had to list them out.
I was on the Brickfest and Rockfest committees, holding three different positions (Secretary, EVR Coordinator, and Chairperson), and held two executive board positions for the WOLK Deaf Jewish Cultural Club. I am a lifelong sister of the Delta Lambda chapter of Alpha Xi Delta, holding two positions simultaneously of Ritual Chair and Fraternity Heritage Chair.
On top of that, I participated in research for nearly two years, studying the effects of UV exposure on Daphnia species, and whether the effects changed due to nutrition. I assisted with course preparation as a student researcher for NTID Writes: A Writing in the Disciplines project and for AP Scholars. For the latter, I also became a teaching assistant. I interned at the Seneca Park Zoo and the Conservators' Center.
I was also a Resident Advisor, a stage manager for Dog Sees God, a College of Science representative for the X-SAB, and was employed as an English Peer Tutor and a lab instructor for General Biology Laboratory. I have had experience traveling nationwide and presenting at conventions, doing everything from poster presentations to flash talks to symposiums.
On top of these, I've also had the wonderful opportunities to meet and get to know my community. As a result I was named one of twenty-four RIT Legacy Leaders of 2015, and the female Outstanding Graduating Student of 2015.
It's pretty unbelievable the legacy that I'm leaving here at RIT. While leaving may be bittersweet, I am truly so excited for what lies ahead.
Now that the majority of my paperwork has been completed, I feel it is now safe to share some very exciting news! I was recently hired for a five-month internship with the Student Conservation Association. I will be part of the Hudson Valley Corps, and will be living throughout the summer and part of the fall in beautiful Hudson Valley.
I will be living in a gorgeous stone cabin with two housemates, and my place of work will be only a short walk away.
What am I doing? I will be the Invasive Species Program Coordinator. I am so THRILLED. I am starting in under two weeks, and I absolutely can't wait.
While this is an internship and not a full-time job, this is a stepping stone to my future, the rest of my life, to all the bigger and better things I have to look forward to.
I thought I would be a lifelong student. That has changed in recent months. Two years ago, I absolutely hated the idea of graduating and leaving RIT. Today, four days away from walking across that stage, I absolutely cannot wait.
It is time.
And I am ready.
FOUR DAYS.
I defended my thesis proposal yesterday (AND PASSED!!!!!!!), and am slated to defend my final thesis mid to late summer.
And then...
Guess what? I'll be done with school! Being someone who has thought she would be a lifelong student (Bridges program, anyone?), I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm SO excited to be almost finished! I'm so excited to go out in the "real world" (even though one of the professors whose students I tutor absolutely hates that term) and start making some real money (cause, ya know, campus debit isn't a real thing).
It's kind of hard to believe, since school has basically been all I've known growing up. I know it truly wasn't my parents' intention, but I always felt like I was in my sister's shadow, since she would make good grades, and then I felt like I had to meet or surpass her grades. To that extent, I think that's why our high school GPAs, SAT and AP scores were very similar, because I pushed myself so hard so I wouldn't "disappoint" my parents (they would've been proud of me either way).
College was really where I stopped feeling like I was in my sister's shadow, because we chose totally different fields of study, and we attended different schools. Even the schools put different emphasis on our fields. At Carolina, from my understanding, many Bio majors end up going to med school, so Bio is really competitive and the introductory classes are really ways to weed out the students who possibly wouldn't be able to make it in med school. At RIT, however, they encourage us to consider many different alternatives to med school (vet school, zoology, environmental science, ESHS, teaching, the possibilities are endless) so I truly enjoyed Biology. And then I started graduate school, and finally "got" just how many opportunities I had at my fingertips.
I've had to do a lot of thinking and reflection in the past few weeks, and I've just started to realize how much I've done in the six years I've been here at RIT, and the legacy I'm leaving. This may be a bit of a humblebrag, but I truly didn't realize until I had to list them out.
I was on the Brickfest and Rockfest committees, holding three different positions (Secretary, EVR Coordinator, and Chairperson), and held two executive board positions for the WOLK Deaf Jewish Cultural Club. I am a lifelong sister of the Delta Lambda chapter of Alpha Xi Delta, holding two positions simultaneously of Ritual Chair and Fraternity Heritage Chair.
On top of that, I participated in research for nearly two years, studying the effects of UV exposure on Daphnia species, and whether the effects changed due to nutrition. I assisted with course preparation as a student researcher for NTID Writes: A Writing in the Disciplines project and for AP Scholars. For the latter, I also became a teaching assistant. I interned at the Seneca Park Zoo and the Conservators' Center.
I was also a Resident Advisor, a stage manager for Dog Sees God, a College of Science representative for the X-SAB, and was employed as an English Peer Tutor and a lab instructor for General Biology Laboratory. I have had experience traveling nationwide and presenting at conventions, doing everything from poster presentations to flash talks to symposiums.
On top of these, I've also had the wonderful opportunities to meet and get to know my community. As a result I was named one of twenty-four RIT Legacy Leaders of 2015, and the female Outstanding Graduating Student of 2015.
It's pretty unbelievable the legacy that I'm leaving here at RIT. While leaving may be bittersweet, I am truly so excited for what lies ahead.
Now that the majority of my paperwork has been completed, I feel it is now safe to share some very exciting news! I was recently hired for a five-month internship with the Student Conservation Association. I will be part of the Hudson Valley Corps, and will be living throughout the summer and part of the fall in beautiful Hudson Valley.
I will be living in a gorgeous stone cabin with two housemates, and my place of work will be only a short walk away.
What am I doing? I will be the Invasive Species Program Coordinator. I am so THRILLED. I am starting in under two weeks, and I absolutely can't wait.
While this is an internship and not a full-time job, this is a stepping stone to my future, the rest of my life, to all the bigger and better things I have to look forward to.
I thought I would be a lifelong student. That has changed in recent months. Two years ago, I absolutely hated the idea of graduating and leaving RIT. Today, four days away from walking across that stage, I absolutely cannot wait.
It is time.
And I am ready.
0 comments