How NOT to be a good TA
Lessons from a first year of graduate student TA
It was my first ever trip to Cambridge and to the MIT campus and, more importantly, the start of my graduate program in the chemistry department. My fall semester schedule was a balance of courses, lab rotations and my teaching assignment. Needless to say, it was a lot to juggle. I felt confident that the […]
Writer’s block? Experiencing isolation as a researcher or writer? WTO has got you covered!
How the Writing and Communication Center’s ‘Writing Together Online’ program helped me overcome writer’s block
In 2019, I was in my second year of PhD when my PhD advisor told me that we had all the results we needed to write up a journal article related to my very first research project. After our meeting that day, I was so excited for two reasons: first, because this was my first […]
The roller coaster ride of research life is no less scarier than those at Six Flags!
The tale of how Six Flags gave me a close friend and insight into handling the ups and downs of grad school
While I remember most events from my past with an extremely high level of detail thanks to my photographic memory, there is more to why I remember what happened on August 10, 2019. That was the day I went to Six Flags, New England, having purchased the discounted tickets sold by GSC. I had absolutely […]
There is more to MIT than lectures and labs!
How one day at Boda Borg changed my perspective of work-life balance
I couldn’t have been more excited when I joined MIT in summer 2018 and started with research straight away. I came here thinking that all I could do at MIT is complete the coursework and conduct research because that is what I had done as an undergrad. However, I knew not that something very exciting […]
Best burgers and convos at BBC
A quirky tradition unfolds the journey of grad school
The first friend I made in grad school doesn’t go to MIT. We didn’t even meet in Cambridge. Josh and I met at a chemistry grad school visit weekend at Princeton. We instantly clicked not only over our obvious shared interest in chemistry, but also a strong passion for teaching. I spent a good chunk […]
