Gratitude

At a time when the level of economic uncertainty is so high for the vast majority of people, I consciously try to focus on all of the little things that make life really great.  For me, this might be enjoying the ride to town with my girls, or taking the time to read something inspirational, or checking out the spring flowers that are surfacing around campus.  These are things that I'm thankful for despite sometimes being carried away by all of life's day-to-day pressures and worries.

Another thing that I'm very thankful for is my work.  I am thankful for the opportunity to work with students and help them grow their potential.  I am thankful for being able to extend opportunities to students that they probably wouldn't have had the chance to experience otherwise.

I think an important part of this work is instilling a sense of gratitude in our students.  For some, it's already there.  For others, this could be a chance for nurturing and growth.  I don't what it is really.  It could have to do with certain exposures during our upbringing or it could be a result of our modern, fast-paced society.  Either way, I think it's important to take note of all of the awesome things we experience everyday and give thanks.  I personally don't think we do this often enough.

I remember what Father John always used to say (a priest from the church where my parents go) - "Have a nice day and don't take it for granted."  Simple and sweet but not something that's always easily attainable.  Don't take it for granted.

McNair students have access to many resources and opportunities.  The truth is, a significant amount of taxpayer money is being funneled into your futures - about $10,000 in fact.  This money is being spent to help each of you grow your talents, explore your passions, build your confidence, create relationships that will spur your success.  I think we all need to be thankful for that.  As I'm working on our grant, I am intimately reminded of just how much is being put toward scholar success.  In return, I think it's important that all of our scholars become individuals who can speak up and say "thank you" - a lot!  Say thank you to someone who holds open a door, say thank you to a professor who spends an extra five minutes with you to talk, say thank you to your mom for calling to say hi, say thank you to each other for sharing this amazing experience together.

I have to be honest and tell you that through the years, I have been disappointed and saddened by the trend of "entitlement" and lack of gratitude among some.  I want to be clear that this isn't about wanting to constantly be hearing "thank you" "thank you" thank you" all of time.  Sure, it's nice to be recognized for our efforts, but what I'm getting at is something bigger.  It's creating a foundation of gratitude that will not only be present among our group, but will move beyond and travel with each of you in your journey.  I feel personally responsible for putting the resources of the McNair program to good use!  I also encourage and expect our scholars to take these resources seriously and use them to their fullest extent.  Please be an example to others and show your gratitude on a daily basis. 

Be thankful for these amazing gifts - big and small - each and every day.

Cool graduate school blogs

So sometimes I fall into the trap of too much 'web-formation' on things, but I thought this list would be useful to us all.  It's a collection of Graduate Student blogs.  Anything from dissertation writing and research to cool tech tools to help the scholar in all of us.

I think you should check it out.

http://www.phdprogramsonline.org/top-50-blogs-every-graduate-student-should-read.html

A Look Back on the Thesis...

As a little bit of background, I was a member of the 2009 McNair cohort, graduated from CMU with my B.S. in Psychology and English (Creative Writing) with a minor in Leadership in May of 2010, and began my graduate work in August 2010 at Portland State University’s (PSU) Applied Industrial-Organizational Psychology Ph.D. program. I blog about my adventures in grad school and Portland, Oregon, at loveistheteacher.tumblr.com. This is my first guest post on the CMU McNair blog!

I’m wrapping up the first quarter of my second year in graduate school, and boy…how the time flies! I remember my time with McNair well—the weeks of research, writing, data collection and analysis, frantic studying for the GRE, the madness of applying to graduate schools, and the awful period of waiting that came with seeing all of my applications off. After visiting two of my potential schools, I knew I wanted to attend Portland State University—and I’m so thankful to say that two years after I sent off my application, I still feel the very same way.

Very early in my graduate school experience, my advisor began to gently push me towards exploring thesis topics. This process began with weekly meetings. In order to prepare for these, I was asked to read my advisor’s publications and bring any questions or thoughts I may have had about them. My advisor pushed me to articulate my interests and passions around the articles I read, and she would often ask questions like, “If you had to design a study from this, what would you do?” Quite intimidating for someone in their first quarter of graduate school! However, meetings like these helped me to learn how to quickly think on my feet, as well as get increasingly familiar with research design.

The winter of my first year, I settled on a thesis topic: I wanted to explore the role of recovery experiences (such as relaxation and psychological detachment) in weakening the negative associations between workplace interpersonal conflict and employee well-being. I made a mutual decision with my advisor to use a data set she already had available, as opposed to collecting my own data. (This made my thesis process much quicker, but presented its own set of unique challenges—a blog post all in its own!) After weeks of writing and revising, I successfully proposed my Master’s thesis this past May. I should note that this timing in and of itself was remarkable for my program—most students don’t propose their theses until sometime in their second year—very, very, very rarely is it done in the first year!

I worked on analyzing my data and writing up my results over this past summer, and finally, this November (on the 18^th—a day before my 23^rd birthday!), I successfully defended my Master’s thesis. What an amazing feeling! While the weeks and days leading up to that final defense were incredibly stressful, the actual defense passed by quite smoothly. I spent countless hours reading articles, re-reading my final document, and practicing my presentation. I suppose all of that practice paid off! My presentation went well (my committee members even complimented me on my presentation skills—thank you, McNair!), I was able to stay on my toes and answer my committee members’ questions, and I had a good discussion with my committee about future directions to take my research in. Successfully defending my thesis means that as of June 2012 (once I complete several more classes), I will officially have my M.S. in Applied Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

In the few weeks since I’ve defended, I’ve continued to work on revising my thesis (because no, it’s not quite over once you’ve defended). I’ll be working in conjunction with my advisor over the next year to publish findings from my thesis. I’m looking forward to turning my attention towards publishing, and will be continuing to take classes for the remainder of the year. The next big milestones for me are my comprehensive exams…which (thankfully) I get to wait until the spring of 2013 to take!