Hey everyone! This is our last post of 2018 and we hope you’ve enjoyed our journey this year. We are so grateful for your continued support as we continue to grow towards bigger and better things in 2019. This week, we thought it was fitting to reflect on the highlights of 2018 as we wind down to the new year.
This has truly been a year of growth! And I mean that in every sense. It has been pretty busy for me the more I think about it and i couldn’t be in a better place in my life. I’ve hit some major milestones and I’m actually really proud of my progress. Here are some of my favorite moments this year, in no particular order.
1. We did our first workshop.
Back in March, we had the honor of hosting our very first workshop at the NSBE conference. It was a phenomenal experience, especially since we’d never done one before on our #MacScientist platform, but we did it and I couldn’t be more proud. If you had told me last year that our brand would’ve gotten to do this I honestly wouldn’t have believed you, but I am soooo thankful it did. Getting the opportunity to engage with students who are interested in STEM is what we’re about and I’m happy NSBE gave us the space to do that and look forward to next year.
2. I’ve received 2 awards this year!
The thing about both of these awards was that they were unexpected and stemmed from someone believing in me and what I’ve been doing. One award was from OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and was for my role on our NOBCChE executive board for mentorship and leadership. Our chapter president, Sierra, and I received this award this past spring. She and I decided, when we took over the chapter, that mentoring both undergrads and graduate students was a priority and we’ve been actively working towards cultivating a community in our field. Plus, my mom came up to watch us get the award and that was pretty cool too.
The second award I received was for the blog! The Women’s Chemist Committee recognized our platform and it’s reach to those in chemistry-related fields. One of my favorite professors at Pitt had a lot to do with that recognition and I thank Michelle from the bottom of my heart for all of her support over the years. You truly inspire me.
3. I passed candidacy!!
On the grad school side of my life, as of August, I am a PhD candidate. This literally was the longest 8+ months of my life studying and preparing for this exam, but I did it! One of the most challenging experiences of my academic career, pushing me to stretch my thinking about what research I’m doing/will be doing, but in the end, but it taught me A LOT. I still would never do it again, but passing lets me see the light at the end of the extremely long tunnel that is getting my degree.
4. I’ve successfully completed one of my big research projects.
Lastly, as the year winds down, so does my first major research project. I’m in the final stages of writing and collecting data before submitting my first, first author publication. Now getting into a journal is an entirely different beast, but submitting is a huge first step. At this point, I’ve done all I can do, pushed this project as far as it can go, and will release it into the mass spec community, hoping other people see its validity. It’s the first research milestone of many, and once I get over this hump, I’ll be able to work my other projects, and the cycle continues from there. Hopefully by next summer, it’ll be published, but I’ll keep you posted.
All in all, 2018 has taught me a lot about myself. About my strengths, my weaknesses, my interests, stretching my capacity to learn. It’s been a ride, let me tell you, but I’m excited to see what 2019 has in store.
What has 2018 taught you? Tweet me your responses!
-The Chemist
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