Graduate school and research is hard; enough difficulty and failure can squelch even the brightest people. I am one of the many I know that have experienced burnout in grad school but it goes beyond academia, it is an experience that is emblematic of our generation. The winter break is a good time to recover … [Read more…]
Welcome to the end of term! I just finished marking a bucket-full of take-home exams with a short turnaround. It is stressful on your professors and marking TAs to churn grades out quickly – so I thought I’d offer some advice on how to make it easier on your marker. As a bonus, making it … [Read more…]
(Warning: This is just a cute picture of my dog with his friend and has absolutely nothing to do with my blog post this week.) With the phrase “reading is writing” Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega started his workshop, and there is no better way for me to start my blog post this week. Dr. Pacheco-Vega is … [Read more…]
Autumn, to me, is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While everyone loves to go out, take pictures of the landscape with trees that look like multi-colored works of art, it reminds me of the old grey shovel in my backyard. It’s mostly that transition phase when the trees undress as the leaves start to … [Read more…]
Hello Fellow readers! My fourth winter in Newfoundland (NL) is just a few weeks away and I am so looking forward to it! I hope everyone is making the best of the Fall offerings while they last (Pumpkins, the yellow green hues around and a little sun). I still remember how the fall of 2016 … [Read more…]
(A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet.) The cognitive and behavioural ecology (CABE) program is a good fit for those who are intrigued by how animals interact with their environments. I was introduced to animal behaviour during my undergraduate studies at Memorial by Dr. David Wilson (the current chair of the CABE program). I had the privilege of … [Read more…]
(Open excavation at Anse à Bertrand, Saint-Pierre (2019)) Entering the second year of my master’s, I paused to think about the choices that led me here. Coming from Ottawa, I chose to move to Newfoundland to pursue an undergrad in marine biology, at Memorial. That decision was apparently a surprise to most who knew me, … [Read more…]
I’m at a conference. It’s 10:30 am, after the morning session, and people are spilling out of sessions all around me, most stopping to look for the nearest coffee station. I meet up with a group of my lab mates. I’m primed and energized from the great talks I just experienced, and I’m preparing myself … [Read more…]
I’m a busy person. I’m sure you are too, and so, likely, is most everyone you know. This is my second semester of my Master’s program, and when I went to the graduate orientation the speakers said something like “You will be busier than you have ever been in your life.” I thought to myself, … [Read more…]
Hello from Reno, NV! I am writing this post in the midst of The Wildlife Society Conference. I spent the last three months preparing for and attending this and another conference at the end of August, so I think it is a fitting time to write a post about my perspectives and experiences at conferences. … [Read more…]