Remember how far you’ve come

Imposter syndrome affects everyone. We fear we know little about what we are passionate about, devalue our knowledge, and believe we are worth less than others. For myself, I became recluse and scared to participate in anything. My imposter voice told me to keep quiet, and I isolated myself. I want to share with new … [Read more…]

Your thesis is banana bread

Hello fellow grad students! A couple months into the 2nd year of my PhD in Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology here, in many ways it feels like I’ve just started. The global pandemic may not have struck Newfoundland quite as intensely as it has elsewhere in the world, but it’s definitely disrupted productivity here as well. … [Read more…]

Preparing to apply to grad school

Hello people! This week’s blog post is an informative piece about how to secure a position in a thesis-based research program (master’s or Ph.D.) at a Canadian University as an international student. I have, in the past 4 years of my time at MUN, been contacted by several candidates asking for tips on how to … [Read more…]

From Sociologist to Actor Overnight

This is the image printed on a beach towel you can purchase from allovershifts.com. It’s creatively called “Mutt Schitt Beach Towel” and you’re welcome. I recently applied to be a background film extra through Casting by Maggie, here in St. John’s. I was looking for some paid work, so it was something completely separate from … [Read more…]

Maintaining balance

A year ago, I wrote a post about how to balance life, school, and everything in between. A lot has changed in a year, but a lot of the strategies that I use to maintain balance in my life remain the same. This year, I have taken on more TA duties than ever before. In … [Read more…]

A Very Different “Welcome”

Hello everyone! This is probably my third “Welcome” message here in the Graduate Students’ Blog, and they are usually pretty similar. The idea is to prepare you for what’s about to come during grad school, give advice that you wish you could follow yourself, and remind you to enjoy every second of this journey. The … [Read more…]

Welcome and Welcome Back!

Welcome new graduate students and welcome back to our returning graduate students for the Fall 2020 semester! We are very excited to be resuming the graduate student blog for the 2020-2021 academic year. This year we have 7 graduate students who will be blogging about their first-hand experiences in graduate studies. Follow their journey throughout … [Read more…]

Reading research papers

The art of writing a paper means the difference between strategically reading a paper and pretending to do so. In my research, I follow three steps- The First Step: The Rule of the Three (Scans): Once I have saved all the documents related to my interest, I begin by reading the abstract, which I consider … [Read more…]

Thoughts on final year in grad school

Hello folks! Hope y’all enjoying the beautiful summer it is! Recently had an a-mazing trip to Gros Morne with my husband, did invigorating hikes, relished the scenic landscapes and got seriously badly tanned! Haha, but a tan is proof you really made the best of the summer! That’s the fun part of life! But on … [Read more…]

A COVID Summer

As we go into month-who-knows-any-more of this pandemic, it’s pretty clear things have changed. From a research point of view, myself and many of my colleagues do have limited access to campus throughout the week, so hands on work can start again (much to our relief). Earlier in the summer I took the opportunity to … [Read more…]