WISE welcomes graduate women with panel at Pizza House

WISE recently held a welcome dinner and panel for first-year graduate students in the sciences, mathematics and statistics. The dinner, held at Pizza House, was attended by 50 women, and was led by panelists Jennifer Blum (3rd year astronomy), Alejandra Castro (5th year physics), Gretchen Gehrke (3rd year geological sciences), Anastasia Kalli (5th year chemistry), and Kelli Talaska (5th year mathematics), all PhD students.

During the course of the evening, the women shared their experiences about coming to UM, an institution that in the words of one woman, really wanted them to attend.

When asked what the might have changed about their first days, the panelists responded that they would have reached out sooner to others, including everyone from study partners to professors, so as to take better advantage of available help and networking. As is true for many of us, some also cited time management issues.

Panelists also shared stress-relief techniques, which included exercise, sleep, and even a little good old-fashioned complaining; sharing your experiences with others can often make your load seem lighter. The women also shared the need to remind yourself that this is what you're passionate about when the going seems too rough.

Lastly the panelists shared their experiences with advisors. One panelist said that she had had to change her advisor, and all agreed that some personality match between advisor and advisee contributes greatly to success, though another panelist cautions that having a great advisor doesn't mean you will necessarily succeed and that you have to take responsibility for the path of your own research.

October 2008 eNews

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