BIG Picture Thinking

This time of year can become especially crazy for our scholars.  It can be CRAZY in a good way and sometimes CRAZY in a “not so” good way.  Each semester comes with its own set of challenges, evidenced by Maureen’s favorite quote, “it’s been a rough semester,” which always seems to surface round this time.  But that’s okay, it’s just part of the process, right?

• You’ve got paper deadlines.
• You’ve got quizzes and final exams.
• You probably have a few projects coming due (some might even be “group” oriented – yikes!)
• And, for a good number of you, you have your grad school applications.
• Did I forget to mention things like basic self-care (eat*sleep*move) and time for friends/family?
• Oh, yeah, you have those things too.

My goal for this post is to encourage BIG PICTURE THINKING amongst these challenges and never-ending to-do lists.  What I mean by this is that you should try to keep your eye (and mind) on the PRIZE.  This might mean doing better than you did last semester for your grades.  This might be crafting one really superb paper (from one of your classes) that you can use for a future writing sample.  For those applying to grad school – this means focusing your energy on getting yourself into grad school.

This can really be tough with everything going on, but carving out the time to craft and submit super high-quality applications is key.  So is visiting schools!  Several of you have already been “out and about” and that is great!  It takes a lot of time, effort and energy to make these visits happen. 

I want to simply remind you that making these visits happen = getting into your top-choice grad program with full funding.  Period.  It’s exactly the BIG PICTURE kind of thinking that I’m talking about. 

In order to visit your top-choice schools, it might mean that you have to “let some stuff" go by the wayside.  And, that’s okay.  It might be hard to not go “full out” in all of your classes as you normally would (wink, wink) – but doing the best you can given that you are traveling to your schools, and taking time off from classes to do so, will be okay in the long-run.

I think everyone knows that in “our collective CMU McNair experience” to date, the scholars that go and visit schools are the ones that get the best admission offers.  Hands down.

So, it pays to think about your “big picture” of getting yourself into a fully funded grad program and do what it takes to make that happen.  YOUR FUTURE WILL THANK YOU!

Visits

Those of you applying to graduate schools this fall are likely grappling with this idea of visiting your top-choice graduate program with the hopes of making a good impression and helping your chances of being accepted with a full-ride.  Yes?  Based on my tally, I’ve got the following scholars scoping the following places for visits:

• Darnell – just hobnobbed with folks from various IVY league schools when he presented his research at the IVY-STEM symposium in Philadelphia.
• Katelyn and Jared are taking off for Wisconsin this Wednesday for visits to both UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.
• Justin C is visiting the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA this week with the hopes of connecting with one of the premier new faculty working on just the area that he wants to be in.
• Maame will be attending the Compact For Faculty Diversity in Tampa at the end of the month to network with Ph.D. students from around the country and talk with reps from various grad programs interested in recruiting students of color; Maame spent the summer doing research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and developing a fantastic relationship with her faculty mentor; we are keeping our fingers crossed that this helps facilitate her successful entry into their Ph.D. program next fall!
• Tanisha is making contact with the University of Texas-Austin and plans to bust down south come early November. 
• Justin M has his heart set on Yale for his master’s in public health; he’s figuring out his plan for a visit.
• Jennifer had an amazing summer research experience at Michigan State University this past summer and would love the opportunity to gain her Ph.D. there; however, she is also exploring Ph.D. programs that combine the dietetic internship with the Ph.D. such as the one at Cornell University – she’ll be going out there in a few short weeks.
• After Jared returns from Madison, he’ll be situating the logistics for visits to Indiana University and the University of Illinois; given that Jared is an English major, it is doubly important for him to make school visits a priority!
• After Katelyn returns from her Wisconsin visit, she is off to visit the University of Iowa – looks like she’ll remain a Mid-western girl at heart?  Stay tuned!
• Next stop(s) for Justin C?  Flying out to Portland, driving to Euguene to visit the University of Oregon, then driving up to Seattle to visit the University of Washington, before driving back down to Portland to fly back to Grand Rapids.  Truth be told?  I so wish I was tagging along in his suitcase - would LOVE to take a trip to the Pacific Northwest!

 So, why are these visits so important and what do you need to do to make a visit successful?  Well, in these days and times, securing financial support is becoming more and more challenging.  The norm is having over 100 applicants competing for 4 – 6 slots.  Yeah. 

The good news is that McNair scholars have a distinct advantage over others by way of being McNair.  McNair scholars not only have built a credential set that rivals the top-tied candidates, but they have the support and encouragement to make contact with and visit their future faculty advisors.  This is HUGE.  Simply HUGE.  Making contact via email and then following up with a visit allows our McNair scholars to really shine, make a great impression that will last through the admissions process AND make sure that their decision to attend their top-choice school is the best one for them.

Not only are you going to connect with faculty on a personal level, but you are also “trying on” and getting a “feel for” each school/program.  It’s as much about you sizing them up as it is about them sizing you up.  Remember this.  You have a ton to offer.  Not everyone is a McNair scholar who is highly articulate with a ton of research experience with a ton of exciting ideas for the kinds of things they want to get involved with.  You are articulate.  You can talk about your research and why you want to get your Ph.D.  You can communicate your passion for the field.  You can tell them what you have to offer in terms of your skills and strengths.  Besides this, you want to hear what they have to offer you.  How do their faculty treat their graduate students?  What kind of graduation rate do they have and where do most of their alumni end up? 

Certainly, just the planning of these visits can be nerve-wracking.  You have to email faculty and have the courage to put yourselves out there.  You have to be willing to take a risk, get on an airplane, talk to people you don’t know…yet.  You have to be confident in your abilities, your interests, and your accomplishments.  You have to be willing to take the chance that someone might ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to.  The truth is, that’s okay.  It’s okay to be yourself.  It’s okay to be “right where you’re at” in your life.  It’s okay to be trying to further yourself, your goals, and your interests.  It’s okay to be searching for the right people to connect with so that you can further pursue your passions.

I recently sat down with Tanisha and listened to her talk about how she needs to “nail it” when she starts emailing faculty.  She stressed how important it is for her to really know why she’s interested in their program and to be able to speak intelligently about her skills and experiences.  While this is true and I get where she’s coming from, I sensed the certain level of stress and worry coming from these sentiments.  My gut helped me respond by saying…yes, you want to be prepared in your dealings with prospective faculty mentors, but this is NOT the be-all, end-all.  Certainly not. 

In my view, the most important piece of this puzzle is simply being you.  Be yourself in how you email faculty and tell them that you are interested in their work and their program.  Be yourself in being excited to set up appointments and schedule a visit.  Be yourself in reading over their work and familiarizing yourself with the details of their program, while also formulating questions for when the time comes and they ask.  Be yourself in talking about your experiences, how you got to this point in your life, why you see yourself going on to achieve your Ph.D.  Be honest with your excitement, your fears, and your feelings in general.  Honestly, I think it’s the best way to go.  When everything is said and done, if you aren’t connecting with people who can truly appreciate these qualities about you, then perhaps it’s not going to be the best fit after all. 

There.  It’s really about finding your fit.  Following your gut, as I like to think about it.  Putting yourself out there, being okay with what is.  Working hard, but then stepping back and letting go.  You can’t control other people.  You can’t control a lot of things in life.  You can control your ambition and your willingness to express yourself.  You can control your enthusiasm and your eagerness to move to the next level.  Let this happen how it is supposed to happen.

Seriously.  After witnessing a good number of McNair scholars take this journey, put themselves out there, go and visit people and places they’ve never been – I’ve determined this IS the exciting part!  You never know when good fortune will strike, when you will totally connect with someone, when you will totally knock it out of the ballpark in terms of making a super awesome impression.  It happens all of the time.  Let go of trying to be perfect and just be YOU.  They will take you and you will take them if it’s meant to be.

The Paradox of Too Many Choices

Lynn wanted me to share this reflection with y'all.  Hope you enjoy!

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The Paradox of too Many Choices

            What a fantastic predicament to be in.  Not only am I accepted to multiple graduate schools (Western Michigan, Ohio, Wayne, Michigan State, and Northern Illinois) but I have two that are offering essentially the same funding package.  Instead of worrying about pursuing my Ph.D., I have the problem of picking which one is better.  It’s absolutely great.

            To assist in my decisions, I’ve created a score card of sorts. The easy and conformable choice is Western; it’s close to my mother’s house, my hometown, and I am very familiar with Kalamazoos.  It is also a bigger program, closer to archives and outstanding libraries, and lies on the Amtrak train line between East Lansing and Chicago.  But it is not Ohio University, which offers a very neat professor who is widely published and close to my specialty.  It is also, or at least used to be, a more prestigious program.  I have some very tough decisions indeed.

            Here is a brief description of each of my criteria.  I am ranking them on a plot of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most desirable or best fit.  Although I won’t only use this tool as my decision maker, I will see how these two programs rank up in a qualitative way.

• The actual size of the Library with regards to books and collections.
• The number of Americanists on staff, whether tenure, tenure track, or adjunct.
• The number of possible professors I could work with.
• The prestige and rank of the institution.
• The access to archives that are close to my field (labor, radicalism, political left wing).
• The number of Ph.Ds conferred.
• The number of history faculty, which will show the strength of the department.
• The number of current Graduate students.
• The quality of the professors (this is where I will give big points to the program that has super-duper professors).
• The cost of living
• The cost of rentals
• The intellectual culture (does the program have a speaker series, does the college bring in speakers, etc.)
• The social and cultural life I may have in that town (restaurants, neat shops, artsy-fartsy things)

So at this point I find myself back and forth between two seemingly equal programs.  Although Ohio has a perfect professor, Western has many really good professors.  Although Ohio is ranked higher, Western has a larger department, both overall and in US history.   It will be very interesting to see how this all shakes up.  I’ve decided to choose by next weekend (April 6).

Today Was A Very Important Day!!

Today I submitted my first application to my top choice school the University of Maryland for their doctoral program in Women's Studies. I was so excited because this point in my life has not come without many tears (literally and figuratively) and much hard work. A few months ago I was doubting my ability to even get in to a Ph.D. program. I only wanted to apply to MA programs (which I still will do but not all) and I was afraid that maybe I wasn't ready. I was even doubting my program and not sure what I wanted to study. But after and few gentle "smack downs" mostly encouraging words and some self exploration, I realized that I am completely capable of pursing this next level.

Throughout this process I have learned three major things about myself...

1. Be honest with myself...it really doesn't matter and it's really not that convincing to others if I am not passionate about.

2. If it's meant to be it will...let the chips fall...relax, relate, release (yep as cliche as it may be)

3. And finally during my visit to U of Maryland a graduate student that I met said something completely profound "go for the school that is going to accept MOST of you."

So with that being said I am signing off to get back to studying and I am excited to submit more applications. Rutgers is next...

What a Difference One Month Can Make

This was my October reflection.  I wanted to share it because one single month really brought about a great change in my emotional state and my excitement level.  ENJOY!
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What an absolute difference a month can make.  I remember feeling down and depressed, unable to move forward, overall concerned about my future while still not making true progress towards it.  Actually, it wasn’t that bad, but it came close.  Then, as if the productivity fairy blessed me with “do-it” dust, I started tackling my tasks with vigor.  I started to feel better, now that I was armed with goals, a to do list, and deadlines.  I was not longer lost in the totality of my tasks.  I had conquered them and, by doing so, I had broken the funk I was in.

Another point for McNair.  And I don’t mind them winning.

I think it would be useful for me, and McNair, to see the progress I have made.  So, here is a list of actions taken and achieved since my last reflection:

• Sent over 50 emails to professors at my top 14 schools.
• Received 70% or so response rate to those emails, including long replies filled with advice and guidance.
• I have targeted 11 schools for applications based on the results above, my interest in the program, and the possibility of acceptance.
• Finalized my letter of recommendation writers, set up meetings with them, discussed my schools, and began the process of getting those letters.
• Met with Professors Smith, Green, Hall, Jones, and Robertson to discuss my potential for admission into a graduate program.  The main concern was my GRE and transcript; all professors saw my overall package as promising.
• I was approved, and very blessed, for travel to Indiana University, as well as visits to my Michigan schools.
• I have skimmed over at least one article from each of my targeted professors.
• I have wrote, reviewed, edited, and revised my statement of purpose and CV at least 15 times, all with the help of multiple people, including Lynn Curry, my professors, a few writing center sessions, and my mother.

THE MORALE OF MY STORY:  I think it’s important for me to remember my accomplishments.  Even more importantly, I need to remember that hard work accomplishes real goals; that if I take a few steps forward at first, I will eventually reach my destination.  I also need to remember that clichés, although overused, do sound good, and look even better on paper.

It's All Good.

I’m trying to think of the best way to put it. “It’s all good” is what I’m coming up with. You’ve probably heard me say that before. I think I get it from my brother Billy, an eternal optimist and just one of those people with, all in all, good vibes. He plays the drum for a living, really.

You can check it at: www.skinnybeatsdrums.com. I digress!

But seriously, it is all good. The path that we’re all on, right? This time of year can be intense and stressful and at the same time a bit suspenseful and super exciting. I’m speaking to our “older” scholars when I talk about all of the “fruits of your labor” starting to ripen. That’s a cheesy way to say that, huh? Really though, you all busted a-- this past summer and fall, and you’ve been traveling a here and there and a here and there – everywhere – as of late, all with the purpose of securing a future for yourselves that most likely will be including a graduate education.

I’m thinking of Kayla down as MSU and Freddy at IU just this past Friday. Jenn trucking down to Nashville and then Oklahoma. And, Bianca making “several” trips to Andrews University quite awhile ago actually, and then more recently “making a stop-over” or shall I say “stop-up” at North Texas. Blaise cruised down to Ohio; Amanda went there on two different occasions actually, in addition to making it over to Indiana. John was in New York and then South Carolina. Cyrus just scoped out Kansas. Freddy already hit up IU last fall (before his “formal interview trip” last week) and Arizona State University. Helena, gosh, where has Helena been? Jet setting to UNC in North Carolina, then Salt Lake City and then Alabama! Kayla is flying out to Denver this coming Friday and Lindsay is making a stop in Denton, TX before heading to Vegas for spring break. Whew! I’m tired just trying to recap that all.

Side Note: ask Jeanine how much she loves putting together our “travel summaries” for reimbursement and tracking purposes this time of year! Talk about challenging….

I love this time of year, even though I do get nervous. I try to remind myself – which is the point of this blog post in case you were wondering – that things will all work out as they are meant to. This is one big, sometimes complicated and convoluted process. I’m guessing that most of you would agree. It’s your life! I just wrote to Kayla and said that this stuff is important and we all need to put forth some serious effort (which in my mind, you all have), but then, I think it’s also about letting some of that go (you know, the stuff in your head) about expectations and worry and things like that. It’s amazing to see how the level of confidence among all of the scholars soars at this point in McNair. We see you come in the office, right before a trip, a bit nervous perhaps, but *really polished* in your intent and preparations for the trip. While we might not all get what we were thinking we would, we will all get what it is we should. We’ll all get ourselves onto a path that is meant for us. At least that’s how I like to think of it. And, I always have to throw this in there – we’re (your lovely McNair family) just really lucky to have been one part of that *really cool* journey, along the way! --LMC

Remember when...

Remember when each of you interviewed to become McNair scholars? Do you remember the kinds of things you told us? You told us about your passions. You told us about how important it is to continue with your education and achieve the highest degree possible – like a Ph.D. – so that you can have a true impact in whatever career you are choosing. You told us that we could count on each of you to have the perseverance and determination to achieve your goal of a Ph.D. so that you could fulfill your own ambitions, contribute to the legacy of Dr. McNair and engage in meaningful work that betters our society.

Maureen and I recently completed the interviewing process for the 2011 (wow, time flies!) cohort of McNair scholars. I am comfortable in speaking for the both of us when I say how much we enjoy this process. We love hearing each student’s story, we love hearing you talk about your backgrounds and how you have succeeded thus far in life, we love hearing about your goals and dreams and how a program like McNair can help get you there. It is truly inspiring! And, why we think this line of work is hugely satisfying.

I bring this up to remind each of you to think about these things. Think about these things when you are in the “thick of the application process” and amid end of the semester pressures. Think about how passionately you spoke to us when you were becoming scholars and think about how far you have come. It’s time to pull out the stops when it comes to handling the challenges of completing your applications and doing everything within your power to find a good fit in a graduate program. Besides the “nuts and bolts” of the applications, reaching out and making contact and visiting those top-choice schools (because you can, as McNair scholars) is probably the most significant thing you can do to get yourself there. It’s a lot of work – all of this – but keep going because you are making progress.

The work will pay off when you can think back to your McNair interview from the vantage point of getting ready to start your fully-funded Ph.D. program in the coolest and best place possible for you!

Visiting schools = Getting offers

I thought it might be good to light the fire on spending significant time and effort toward getting in touch with prospective faculty advisors and setting up school visits. This takes initiative, courage and work; in other words, it’s not easy. That’s okay though, because you know that we’re here to support you in this endeavor. It is true though that you each need to do the legwork in terms of finding people and reaching out. Through the years, scholars who made visits to their prospective graduate programs have typically received offers of admittance and funding. It some cases, it can really come down to a school visit. For those of you who wish certain aspects of your application to be stronger, making contact and making a visit could really help!

I am also posting this Winner’s Circle since I think it underscores my point – spend time doing the things that are going to be the most effective and don’t get stuck just doing things because you think they need to be done. Yes, you need to take care of all of the details like requesting transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc. etc. But, putting all the effort you can into making contact with faculty is likely going to have the greatest impact in the long-run.

"Efficiency and Effectiveness"

Did you know that there is an important difference between efficiency and effectiveness? Let's talk about that difference and why it matters. Most businesses focus a lot of energy on running an efficient operation – efficient in the sense that things get done with a minimum of effort and motion. It’s low input and high output. In other words, efficiency is doing things right. But doing what things? Ah! This is a very important question.

You see, effectiveness, to me, is doing the right things right. And effectiveness is what you want to aim for, because you can be extremely efficient at doing the wrong things. You can practice the wrong technique or the wrong moves until you've got it down perfectly. And then you're going to wonder and worry about why you're not doing any better, why the business is failing, why your customers don't come back when everything is running like a well-oiled machine.

So when you visualize yourself or your business, don't just see yourself doing things right. See yourself doing the right things right. And remember that sometimes the right thing done imperfectly can beat the heck out of a flawless performance of the wrong thing. Edward Deming, the originator of the total quality management movement, once said that if you run a company on numbers alone, you are sure to fail, because the most important numbers are unknown and unknowable. I have a feeling one of the things he meant was don't worry so much about doing things right, and concentrate instead on doing the right things.

--Lou Tice, The Pacific Institute

Grad School Groove

From recent meetings with many of you, I know that progress is being made on the grad school front, which is great! It’s a lot of work, but it will be worth it in the end when multiple funding offers are on the table. Grad school visits are starting (Freddy is at Indiana University at the time of this posting) and they are always exciting for us – we love hearing about your travels and hearing about your experiences at your prospective schools. You know my mantra – offers tend to happen as a result of a visit with program faculty. I am offering a link to a webinar with Don Asher – someone you know well. Don participated in a 45 minute grad school seminar at the University of Tennessee and we can access that presentation through a podcast. You may find revisiting some of Don’s ideas and recommendations to be helpful in your current application process and thinking about how to craft the most competitive grad application that you can. Here’s that link:

http://160.36.161.128/UTK/Viewer/?peid=3f496037222a4f1497656d34a5731458

The other tidbit I want to put out there is something Andy talked about in his monthly – basically how cool it’s been to get to know faculty in the biology department, certainly his mentor, and how he is beginning to feel more and more comfortable with the idea of himself becoming part of that community of researchers. It can sometimes feel like faculty are on an entirely different level, but they are just people who were in the same place as each of you at one point in their career. The fact that most faculty are generous with their time and make themselves accessible by mentoring students is terrific. It’s part of the cycle, for sure. Seeing you guys have realizations like this makes this line of work very satisfying.

Here’s what Andy had to say:

“….an interesting rite of passage type experience has occurred for me in the past year or two. Early in college, the professors and pretty much anyone with a doctoral level degree seemed on a pedestal to me. They were unapproachable with anything unrelated to biology and were something I had no chance or even desire of becoming. That feeling has obviously passed, and I am now taking the first steps to becoming part of that group. Actually getting to know a few professors on a personal level has been an eye-opening experience. On several occasions I have related past experiences in my life to nearly identical occurrences in one of my professors’. I see myself acting in similar ways, asking similar questions, and having conversations both scientific and social. Three years ago this would have all seemed so foreign to me, and even now it seems a bit crazy at times. I feel like part of the group already though, so hopefully all that’s left is to actually get my degree!”

--Andy Harris, 2010 McNair Scholar

Faculty Correspondences

Even with the graduate school application process nearing it still feels as if I am just another statistic for the schools to look at. I can honestly say I have mixed feelings about being accepted to a program and part of that is due to not having a substantial GRE score yet.

With all these thoughts floating around in my head (and with a little incentive from Lynn) I decided to start contacting faculty for my top schools. This was sort of a difficult task for me. Who would I contact first? How many faculty for each school? After reviewing some my grad. school data sheets I realized that all of my applications (except one) are due in December, therefore I decided to just contact all of the faculty I was interested in for each of my schools.

I sent out a total of 15 e-mails on a Friday and was receiving responses on a Saturday! I have had 11 of the 15 e-mails responded to in a week time span.

All of the responses are very encouraging and some even say things such as "I will look carefully at your application when it comes in". Not only does this make me more excited to apply, it also allows me to see which schools are being responsive and will help me to decide which schools I will be visiting shortly.

The main point I want to stress is that a simple e-mail can make such a huge impact on getting faculty to notice you and when they start hearing your name multiple times before receiving your application they are going to remember that name. I also strongly encourage you all to start corresponding with faculty because it makes the process seem like more of a reality and really boosts your energy on delving into the application process.

In the Swing of Things

We all have goals, right? I love the idea of a blog, but alas, the summer slipped by without much activity on the blog (Maureen is the exception here!). My goal this fall is to utilize the blog to post ideas, anecdotes, thoughts, etc. to help you think about your grad school process and to implement the action plans you all devised this summer. My goal is to post weekly. Here is my affirmation to that effect:

“It is great to see that now that I have made it a habit, my weekly blog postings are a reality! The scholars are enjoying these tidbits and responding with their own, and as a result, they are feeling more connected with the cohort. Even though we can't always see each other in person, it's nice to have this be a place we can just check in and connect when we have a few spare moments in the day.”

So, how is everyone feeling? Busy! That’s probably the word that comes to mind. Yes, yes, yes. And you are probably feeling like the summer zipped by with just work, work, and more work… While that is true, I hope that you do feel like your work was worth it and that you did sneak in some time for rest, reflection and rejuvenation along the way. Isn’t that how we are supposed achieve balance in life? Right!

If I may put this out there, try to keep a focus on your big picture, even as you deal with your classes, work, activities, friends and family and on and on. Especially as it relates to grad school and your prospects for continuing on with your education and developing an awesome career after you get your Ph.D. Try to think about all the work you did this summer from this perspective. Think about the big picture and prioritize your time so that you can implement your action plans little by little, making some progress with your applications each week. Even if you aren’t applying this fall, you can continue to develop your “grad school mindset” in this way….staying involved in research, continuing to research grad programs and so on. Try not to let the “big picture” overwhelm you, but instead, keep your eye on the prize as you take consistent steps toward getting yourself to where you want to be.