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…]

Using the pandemic to make positive changes in academia

I recently listened to a podcast episode about some of the surprising impacts the 1918 influenza had on events of the 20th century. You can listen to that episode at https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/dispatches-1918. In short, by infecting some influential people, the podcasters argue that the flu changed the course of art, politics, and even the second world … [Read more…]

The stars – can’t be cancelled due to Covid-19

Image Credit: Will Mallot on Unsplash Though my soul is set in darkness, I will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. – Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer to His Pupil Greetings earthlings existing in this timeline, I am a wildlife biologist but I have … [Read more…]

Making your research accessible through effective communication

A Leach’s Storm-Petrel: the most common breeding seabird in Newfoundland and the inspiration for my newfound love of science communication. Recently, I was interviewed for CBC Radio Canada about my ongoing MSc research. I did not know what would come of it, but the article has attracted some attention and brought my research into the … [Read more…]

Stressed? Try Taking a Staycation

It has been a rough year: 2020 seems as though it will never come to an end. Luckily for us, escape is but a quick car ride away in Newfoundland. Whether you want to or not, everyone grows to love “The Rock” (a.k.a. Newfounland) over time. Perhaps it is the inescapable beauty of living in … [Read more…]