Hi All, I just wanted to start out with a quick introduction as this is my first post! I’m Anna, I grew up in Greater Vancouver and apparently fit the British Columbian stereotype, which I never knew before leaving. I completed my BSc at the University of British Columbia where I studied biology and geography. I packed up my things, drove across the country and now I’m a master’s candidate in the geography department at Memorial, studying the effects non-climatic constraints on elevational range shifts of Black Spruce and Tamarack Larch, under Dr. Carissa Brown.
How did a British Columbian find herself on the opposite side of the country one may ask (and trust me they do)? Well, it all started out during my undergrad. The summer of my 3rd year, I was looking for a summer job and saw a posting for a field assistant position in the Yukon and thought to myself, that could be interesting. Little did I know, I was about to experience a pivotal point in my academic career. That summer and the next, I found my passion research in particular field-based plant ecological research. Under the guidance of a great mentor, and through my summer field work experience, I narrowed down my academic interest to, how climate change is affecting plant species abundance and distributions and how these in turn affect plant community composition and ecosystem function. After I completed my undergraduate degree, the only thing I really wanted to do was to have a research project of my own, so I began looking into professors who’s research interests aligned with my own. And that pretty much brings me to where I am today, working in a great lab studying something I am passionate about.
I didn’t want this post to just be me rambling on about what has lead me to this point, so I asked myself, “what is something unique to my experience thus far that other potential future graduate students might benefit from?” I’ll give you a clue, it has to do with my title “6 months deep!” “But it is November” you state, “shouldn’t you be two months into your masters?” To answer your question, I am currently 6 months in; I started my program this May which is an uncommon time to begin. Questions I can’t answer: what have I done the last six months, where has the time gone, how is everyone in this department so intelligent? (I’ve been assured these questions are normal). Okay but back to when I started (for lack of a better term) in the “off season.” I chose to start in May mainly because of the nature of plant ecology studies and being limited by the growing season; if I wanted to do anything experimental for my thesis I needed to get my project installed this summer (see above field work picture). The positives for starting in May are threefold: 1) my first semester I got to focus solely on deciding and refining ideas for what my thesis would entail without the burden of class work, 2) I got to get settled into a new town and did some exploring before my schedule got more hectic, and 3) I got my first field season done so next year I am ready to start data collection. So what are some negatives of starting in the summer? 1) You don’t start with a cohort of new graduate students, so things such as orientations do not occur, 2) you only have one opportunity to apply to NSERC/SSHRC funding because you will have exceeded the time limit to apply by the fall deadline in your second year. Would I change my start date? Definitely not. First of all, big shout out to Memorial geography for being so welcoming and inclusive, which had a huge effect on making moving to a new town really easy. I do feel a little nervous about NSERC because getting the grant is academically (and financially) beneficial and I will only be able to apply this fall. Although only having one chance to apply is less desirable, I had the summer months to formulate my project and do a LOT of reading, which hopefully will make me a more competitive applicant. Maybe the most important thing though, was the ease of the transition of becoming a graduate student (as well as the move). My May start date gave me a nice ease into being a Graduate student, instead of starting off needing to worry about class, my thesis, and grants all at once in September.
Well enough rambling for now, hope it was helpful!
See you in January!
~Anna