Adventures on Amtrak
A story of antics and perseverance
Powered by three hours of sleep and some reheated potstickers (in hindsight, this was truly an omen for how the rest of the day would go), I sprung into action at 5:22 am to make the final preparations for my journey back to Cambridge. Coming from a town in Delaware, I had managed to live […]
Quality of life: The heart of the matter
How my chronic disease has driven me to live more, not less, in graduate school and beyond
Most of the children showed off a favorite toy. Some brought items that were meaningful to their family or culture. When I got to the front of my kindergarten class, my hands were empty. “My show-and-tell is…me!” I exclaimed as I pulled up my shirt and bared my chest to an audience of shocked five-year-olds […]
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Iftar and Dates
Finding my community on campus through spiritual practice and vibrant tradition
My stomach grumbled loudly. I had 1 hour and 33 minutes left until I could eat, and yes I was counting down the seconds. Though this was day 5 out of 30, I hadn’t adjusted yet to my new eating schedule, so getting through classes without breakfast or lunch was mildly difficult. The afternoon had […]
The unstructured symphony of grad school
Embracing challenges in academia and jazz
My first solo Over the past 4 years at MIT, I have often had my comfort zone pushed. To name a few things, I’ve presented to NASA leadership, received my first peer reviews, and traveled alone to conferences. But one very different anxiety-o-meter peaking experience occurred about 40 seconds into the hard bop standard Nutville […]
Letters to a young engineer
My journey from school to industry, and back again
Well, you finally made it. A well-paying job at a world-renowned company, a 9-5 (ish) lifestyle, actually having weekends — weekends! — to spend on life rather than homework, all conveniently located in one of the best cities on Earth. It’s what your parents always hoped for you, what your professors always promised was just […]
