The Decision and What's Next?

Well hello everyone and welcome back to the podcast Resilience in STEM. A couple of days ago I was looking at the list of episodes and I realized that this is the last episode at least of this series. So I first wanted to thank everyone for tuning in to listen to this podcast it does mean a lot. It’s allowed me to explain my thoughts and document my process of applying to graduate school. It’s very surreal. When I started this I never thought I would be in the position I am now. It’s very crazy to think about and opened me up to the world of podcasting. I think it’s quite nice to document the journeys we are all on, giving advice, and sharing resources. For this being my first podcast series it has been a wonderful journey and learning experience. I believe this will be the last episode of this series. 

 

To kick it off, let’s get into a life update! Classes are getting extremely hectic. This is my final semester of college. Fortunately, I don’t have any finals this semester. However, when there are no finals there are projects. The majority of the projects I have are due this week or the following week. My last day of class is April 30th. I’m recording this now on April 16th. I was working on a paper and looked at the calendar date on my laptop. When I saw this I realized that I have two weeks left of college. It’s crazy that after four years I am finally graduating. Last week I did take my senior pictures so I'm excited to see them. It’s very crazy this chapter of my life is ending. I believe I mentioned this in a previous episode but I go to school at Texas A&M, and I also grew up in the town where Texas A&M is located. My whole life has been spent in this one place. My treasured memories, mentors, and community were formed here. After graduating, I will be moving to a new place starting fresh. It’s exciting, daunting, thrilling, and so much more. A lot of my organizations are having their last meetings, and it’s a bittersweet moment. All of this effort and time you put in for it to end. 

 

The title of this episode gives it away for what my decision is and what I get to do next. We’ve talked a lot about graduate school and how to put an application together, what are the major components, how to write an essay, how to organize your list of where you want to study, and so much more. I’m happy to say that I have committed to my Neuroscience Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. It’s been quite a journey. I remember I attended a likely student visit in October (I believe I recorded one of the episodes during that time and ever since I went there I fell in love with it. The faculty matched my interests. I could tell there was an emphasis on graduate students and shaping their success. Yes, programs talk about collaboration, but I noticed at Penn that they also focus on making sure their students are successful since they represent the university. Also, there were tons of opportunities for my career. I did receive a fellowship that allowed me to explore different career options and connect me with alumni. I also had the opportunity to continue my work for student success. After that October visit, I asked the director if I could help and she agreed to it. Between the top programs I was thinking about they all had great academics, great alumni, and amazing research fit. In the end, it came down to the lifestyle I wanted to be in. All of the programs had a really good prestige factor. I knew wherever I went, it wasn’t a wrong decision, but I wanted to be part of a city and somewhere different from Texas A&M. My parents told me you want to be super excited where you are at. You will constantly get challenged and experience a lot of failure. It’s very important you start with a big high and you are happy with your choice. It was a little morbid, but essentially what they said it was only going to get worse and I would end the program a different person. I’m so happy that I got this opportunity for my graduate education. If someone told me a year ago that I would be going to UPenn for graduate school, I would just think they were crazy. I was writing the outline of the episode on April 15th, which is graduate school decision day. So I did sign the papers and everything is done. 

 

I just wanted to thank you guys again for following my journey. You saw me when I was thinking about applying, why I wanted to do it, and the advice I shared throughout the year. It’s been an incredibly hectic past four years of my life. I also knew the application cycle was going to be incredibly difficult due to COVID and applied as an undergraduate. It was sometimes hard to give myself the confidence that I was meant to be in these scenarios. This process has been rewarding and I’m happy you guys got to listen along to the ride. 

 

What am I going to do now? I talked about this a few minutes ago, but I loved the idea of podcasting. So I would be open to doing a podcast with other Ph.D. students or documenting my experience. Probably not making it as regular as now because I anticipate being a little more busy. At least the immediate next steps are to finish my classes, graduate, find an apartment, move to Philadelphia, and start the PhD. I will be moving to Philadelphia in early August. I’ve been scrolling through my TikTok and finding places I want to visit. I’m over the moon about it (I don’t have too many words). I never thought this would be such a reality for me. Not only to accept my offer at UPenn but to also get other offers. It just means the world to me to come out of the application process with success and commit to the program I’ve dreamt about for so many years.