Sharon Bolanta

PhD Candidate, University of Limerick, Ireland

Pursuing a PhD in the Republic of Ireland, at the University of Limerick

Learning how to celebrate the small victories

Before I went back to school, I had a list of things I wanted to do outside of my research. I didn’t want to be one of those people who became so consumed with their research that they forgot how to live life. I laugh now because the thing that I feared was what happened to me.

A PhD is like a full-time job

I started my PhD at my host University. Like anyone starting anything new, I was excited! I thought I would be making a ground-breaking discovery in two years and graduating in three and a half. I had everything planned out. It’s funny looking back now because I am in the third year of my PhD and I haven’t made any ground-breaking discoveries; in fact, half the time I’m asking myself, “What am I doing here?”