Graduate school is challenging and chaotic at times; don’t be afraid to seek guidance, whether it’s for academic advice, mental health support, or the best place in the city for live music.
Imposter syndrome is real, but it can be overcome! Allow yourself time to adjust to graduate school; the dynamic will be very different from undergraduate studies.
Finally, don’t isolate yourself in your research. Reach out to colleagues, develop new friendships, make time for yourself!
I loved being a PhD student here. My advisors and labmates were all very supportive of my research endeavors. I enjoyed being in charge of my own research project.
My research dealt with using biostimulants as environmentally friendly alternatives to fungicides, for preventing dollar spot disease, which is one of the most prevalent disease that affects turfgrass on golf courses worldwide. My research will hopefully help to identify species and cultivars of turfgrass that respond positively to various biostimulant applications and therefore have a lower disease incidence. This will potentially allow golf course managers to use fewer fungicides in the future by switching to biostimulant applications, which will reduce the environmental impact that they have on the surrounding ecosystems.
There are so many ways to pursue your passions and interests. I'd recommend that prospective grad students be certain that they are ready for the rigour and commitment required by graduate studies. Be open to new ideas, critiques, and other ways of seeing the world. Learn from your peers, students, university staff, and the wider community, in addition to your professors. Be generous with others and build community. Don't forget where you come from.
TAKE initiative. REACH out. LEAD boldly. This program affords you opportunities and connections that you will not receive anywhere else and if you take advantage of these you will become “that” person. “That” person who helped you, “that” person who was proud of you, and “that” person who you wanted to be.
The graduate life experience is great! There are a ton of activities and ways to get involved on campus. The administration, faculty and fellow student truly provide a supportive environment to learn, grow and be challenged.
My best advice for prospective grad students would be to not be afraid to put yourself out there to the individuals you want to work with or those you believe to be the best sources of information. You are your best advocate! I would suggest doing as much research as possible on different graduate programs at various institutions, as well as the research being conducted to find the best fit for yourself. In my experience, asking current grad students how their experience was and how they achieved their goals was extremely helpful as they provided their authentic opinion.
