
{"id":2401,"date":"2019-04-23T06:54:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T06:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/four-years-of-hard-work-coming-to-an-end-i-finally-obtained-my-phd\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:37:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:37:02","slug":"four-years-of-hard-work-coming-to-an-end-i-finally-obtained-my-phd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/four-years-of-hard-work-coming-to-an-end-i-finally-obtained-my-phd","title":{"rendered":"Four years of hard work coming to an end: I finally obtained my PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">After more than four years of hard work, I finally obtained\u00a0my PhD. On December 8<sup>th<\/sup>, 2016, at 11.00 am, I successfully defended my thesis, entitled\u00a0<i>Crossing species Boundaries: the Hybrid Histories of the True Geese<\/i>. The thesis committee rated my thesis as \u2018very good\u2019 and my defense as \u2018excellent.\u2019 After that day, I escaped to the UK for a well-deserved holiday (although I assisted my girlfriend in some lab work). Now, back on the European mainland, I am ready to reflect on one of the most memorable\u00a0days in my life.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>The layman\u2019s talk<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">I arrived in the Aula of Wageningen University around 10.00 am to prepare for my\u00a0defense. After setting up the PowerPoint presentation for my layman\u2019s talk and getting\u00a0into my fancy suit, the first guests arrived: my family. My\u00a0parents stayed in a local B&amp;B (my former room) and walked to the Aula, while my sister and her boyfriend transported my two grandmothers from Belgium. They all entered together, some of them more nervous than me.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The family arrives at the Aula\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227873%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20family%20arrives%20at%20the%20Aula%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20family%20arrives%20at%20the%20Aula%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/1_25.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"The family arrives at the Aula\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-347\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>The family arrives at the Aula<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">While the other guests were arriving, I retreated to the \u2018small auditorium\u2019 where I was joined by\u00a0my two paranymphs: Shenglai Yin and Yingying Wang (my two Chinese office mates). The presence of paranymphs is\u00a0a tradition at certain\u00a0Dutch universities. Wikipedia has the following to say about this custom:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><i>In the Netherlands, paranymphs (paranimfen) can be present at the doctoral thesis defence. This ritual originates from the ancient concept where obtaining a doctorate was seen as a de facto marriage to the university. Furthermore, the paranymphs would also act as a backup for the doctoral candidate to ask for advice when answering questions. Today their role is symbolic and seen as a position of honour similar to a best man or woman at a wedding.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">A couple of minutes before the start of the defense, the \u2018pedel\u2019 entered the room to explain the ceremony to us. Then, just before the clock hit 11.00 am, she guided us to the Aula.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The pedel explaining the ceremony to me (on the right) and my paranymphs\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227874%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20pedel%20explaining%20the%20ceremony%20to%20me%20(on%20the%20right)%20and%20my%20paranymphs%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20pedel%20explaining%20the%20ceremony%20to%20me%20(on%20the%20right)%20and%20my%20paranymphs%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/2_10.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"The pedel explaining the ceremony to me (on the right) and my paranymphs\" \/><br \/><em><strong>The pedel explaining the ceremony to me (on the right) and my paranymphs<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Once the audience settled down, I started my layman\u2019s talk. The idea of this presentation is to present your PhD thesis (more than four years of work!) in about 14 minutes. Everyone should be able to understand it. I based this\u00a0talk on my experiences at\u00a0<i>ScienceBattle<\/i>, a Dutch theater show in which four PhD students try to convince the audience about their research. I managed to win this event a couple of times (being rewarded with a wooden plaque of the\u00a0<i>ScienceBattle<\/i>\u00a0logo and a brain in a jar. What more can you wish for?), so I was quite confident that laymen would\u00a0be able to\u00a0understand it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The layman\u2019s talk\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227875%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20layman%E2%80%99s%20talk%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22The%20layman%E2%80%99s%20talk%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/3_6.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"The layman\u2019s talk\" \/><br \/><em><strong>The layman\u2019s talk<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>The Defense<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">After the layman\u2019s talk, the thesis committee entered, preceded by the pedel. They took their seats and Prof. Dr. Carolien Kroeze, representing the rector magnificus, opened the ceremony with a firm bang of her hammer. Then it was time for the opponents to attack my work and fire question after question on me. I cannot remember all the questions, but let me give you a brief overview.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Prof. Dr. Bas Zwaan, professor of genetics at Wageningen University, was the first to challenge me. He mainly focused on several concepts in the study of speciation, such as genomic islands and Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities, and how they relate to the geese.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Prof. Dr. Bas Zwaan (Wageningen University)\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227876%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Prof.%20Dr.%20Bas%20Zwaan%20(Wageningen%20University)%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Prof.%20Dr.%20Bas%20Zwaan%20(Wageningen%20University)%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/4_42.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Prof. Dr. Bas Zwaan (Wageningen University)\" \/><br \/><strong><em>Prof. Dr. Bas Zwaan (Wageningen University)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Second, Dr. Pim Arntzen (senior researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center) took the floor. Among other things, he\u00a0asked me about the evidence for a hybrid origin of the Red-breasted Goose. And he wanted me to elaborate on one of my propositions namely, \u2018Coffee breaks lead to more important insights than conferences and workshops.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dr. Pim Arntzen (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden)\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227877%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Dr.%20Pim%20Arntzen%20(Naturalis%20Biodiversity%20Center,%20Leiden)%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Dr.%20Pim%20Arntzen%20(Naturalis%20Biodiversity%20Center,%20Leiden)%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/5_3.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Dr. Pim Arntzen (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden)\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Dr. Pim Arntzen (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">The next one in line was Prof. Dr. Bart Nolet from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. He mainly focused on the behavioral mechanisms leading to hybridization. He also gave me a figure of the distribution of Canada Goose subspecies with the question: what is going on here? Subspecies in the north are smaller, probably because of natural selection for shorter extremities (a phenomenon known as Allen\u2019s Rule).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Prof. Dr. Bart Nolet (Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen)\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227878%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Prof.%20Dr.%20Bart%20Nolet%20(Netherlands%20Institute%20of%20Ecology,%20Wageningen)%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Prof.%20Dr.%20Bart%20Nolet%20(Netherlands%20Institute%20of%20Ecology,%20Wageningen)%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/6_0.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Prof. Dr. Bart Nolet (Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen)\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Prof. Dr. Bart Nolet (Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Another member of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Dr. Kees van Oers, was given the opportunity to question me. This opponent deserves a special mention. Originally, the fourth member of my examining committee was Dr. Radka Reifova from the University of Prague. Unfortunately, she could not make it to Wageningen. Because she cancelled just one week before my defense, we had to rush to find another opponent. Only one day before the defense Dr. Kees van Oers agreed to fill in. Thank you very much, highly esteemed opponent! Much to my delight, he started with a philosophical question: \u2018What is a species?\u2019 We had a lively discussion on this topic.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dr. Kees van Oers (Netherlands Institute of Ecology)\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227879%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Dr.%20Kees%20van%20Oers%20(Netherlands%20Institute%20of%20Ecology)%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Dr.%20Kees%20van%20Oers%20(Netherlands%20Institute%20of%20Ecology)%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/7_0.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Dr. Kees van Oers (Netherlands Institute of Ecology)\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Dr. Kees van Oers (Netherlands Institute of Ecology)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">My co-promotor, Dr. Hendrik-Jan Megens, concluded the interrogation with some questions related to my upcoming postdoc in Uppsala. After 45 minutes, the pedel entered again and hit the ground with her stick. \u2018Hora est!\u2019 The committee withdrew for consultation and I just had to wait and see.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">About 15 minutes later, the committee returned. I was invited to sign my degree \u2013 a very memorable moment (and a mandatory picture moment). Afterwards, my promotor, Ron Ydenberg, delivered the judicium and the laudatio. The verdict from the committee:\u00a0my thesis was \u2018very good\u2019 and my defense was \u2018excellent.\u2019 With a big smile on my face and the degree in my hands, I walked\u00a0out of the Aula.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Signing my degree\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227880%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Signing%20my%20degree%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Signing%20my%20degree%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/8_0.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Signing my degree\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Signing my degree<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Following the defense, all the guests had\u00a0the opportunity to congratulate me and enjoy a lunch at the reception. After shaking many hands and receiving several presents, I finally made my way to the table with sandwiches, only to find out that the selection had been narrowed down to \u2018krentenbollen.\u2019<b> <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Group picture of my thesis committee and supervising team at the reception\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227881%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Group%20picture%20of%20my%20thesis%20committee%20and%20supervising%20team%20at%20the%20reception%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Group%20picture%20of%20my%20thesis%20committee%20and%20supervising%20team%20at%20the%20reception%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/9_3.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Group picture of my thesis committee and supervising team at the reception\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Group picture of my thesis committee and supervising team at the reception<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\"><b>The Party<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In the evening, I invited my family and friends to H41, a cosy restaurant in downtown Wageningen.\u00a0After several beers,\u00a0it was time for speeches. Shenglai Yin opened the floor with a nice stand-up comedy routine. Then Sip van Wieren, Herbert Prins and Hendrik-Jan Megens took the microphone. I will not repeat their speeches here, but to summarize: Sip elaborated on our plans to work on goose penises, Herbert described my encounter with a Russian lady in Siberia, and Hendrik-Jan talked about my stubborn character.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sip ending his speech\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227882%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Sip%20ending%20his%20speech%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Sip%20ending%20his%20speech%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/10_0.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Sip ending his speech\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Sip ending his speech<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Herbert doing what his does best: talking\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227883%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Herbert%20doing%20what%20his%20does%20best:%20talking%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Herbert%20doing%20what%20his%20does%20best:%20talking%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/11_14.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Herbert doing what his does best: talking\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Herbert doing what his does best: talking<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hendrik-Jan giving his speech\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227884%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Hendrik-Jan%20giving%20his%20speech%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22Hendrik-Jan%20giving%20his%20speech%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/12.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"Hendrik-Jan giving his speech\" \/><br \/><em><strong>Hendrik-Jan giving his speech<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">In the end, I got back at\u00a0all my supervisors and thanked them with a special present: six decoy geese (the ones hunters use to lure geese).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"My supervising team and their geese\" class=\"responsive\" data-file_info=\"%7B%22fid%22:%227885%22,%22view_mode%22:%22default%22,%22fields%22:%7B%22format%22:%22default%22,%22field_file_image_alt_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22My%20supervising%20team%20and%20their%20geese%22,%22field_file_image_title_text%5Bund%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D%22:%22My%20supervising%20team%20and%20their%20geese%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Btextfield%5D%22:%22%22,%22field_image_tags%5Bund%5D%5Bvalue_field%5D%22:%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%5C%22%22%7D,%22type%22:%22media%22%7D\" src=\"http:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/13_5.jpg\" style=\"\" title=\"My supervising team and their geese\" \/><br \/><em><strong>My supervising team and their geese<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">The party continued. Finally, everyone went home, including me. The next day, I woke up quite early. Staring at the ceiling, I realized that I was now a doctor. Although I did not feel different.\u00a0I was still (and will be) just Jente.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">Thank you all for sharing this memorable day with me. And a special thanks to Audrie for taking pictures.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0cm 0cm 10pt\"><em><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"line-height:115%\"><span style=\"font-family:Calibri,sans-serif\">This post has been taken from my other blog:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/evolutionarystories.wordpress.com\/\" style=\"color:blue; text-decoration:underline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Evolutionary Stories<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>Dr. Jente Ottenburghs (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jente_O\"><b>@<\/b>Jente_O<\/a><\/i><i>) is a postdoc at Uppsala University, Sweden. This story was published on January\u00a010, 2017, on\u00a0<\/i><i>Dr. Ottenburghs\u2019\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jenteottenburghs.wordpress.com\/\">blog<\/a>,\u00a0(available\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jenteottenburghs.wordpress.com\/2017\/01\/\">here<\/a>) and has been republished here with his\u00a0permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After more than four years of hard work, I finally obtained\u00a0my PhD. On December 8th, 2016, at 11.00 am, I successfully defended my thesis, entitled\u00a0Crossing species Boundaries: the Hybrid Histories of the True Geese. The thesis committee rated my thesis as \u2018very good\u2019 and my defense as \u2018excellent.\u2019 After that day, I escaped to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1018,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2414],"tags":[2666,2454],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-researcher-stories","tag-phd-life","tag-researcher-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Four years of hard work coming to an end: I finally obtained my PhD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Jente Ottenburghs is a postdoc at Uppsala University, Sweden. 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