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Megan Livingston

Doctoral Student, University of Texas MD Anderson

Doctoral Student, University of Texas MD Anderson/UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

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Looking back: A year into my PhD journey

Many things happened at once when our program began a year ago. Our orientation week was cut short and we missed the first week of classes due to Hurricane Harvey. After that, getting into the classroom mentality took a while because the storm had lasting effects on many of my classmates and professors.

How a three-year break prepared me for my PhD

The first 9 months of my post-academic life were filled with moving back in with my parents, trying to find a job, questioning my choices, catching up on sleep, and getting re-acquainted with the people in my life. Although I felt more like a high school student during summer break than a functioning adult, I appreciate the breathing room it afforded me and my chance to reassess what I wanted to do next.

Even in the face of failure and rejection, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished

This past December, I applied for a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. If received, it would fully fund my graduate education, providing me the freedom to join any lab I wanted at my institution. I proposed a project designed in collaboration with a former boss/PI and was incredibly proud of the research plan. Unfortunately, the review committee did not agree, and told me that my application was no longer being considered.

I feel like I started my PhD at a sprint

Completing a PhD is like running a marathon. You can approach it as a race and attempt to finish first, or you can merely focus on finishing. Instead of pacing myself in anticipation of the long road ahead, I feel like I have started my PhD at a sprint.

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