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 […]
Times may have changed, but MIT will not
Looking Back at International IAP Adventures
My first year at MIT was filled with opportunities, more than I was able to take advantage of. In just one walk down the Infinite corridor, I could pick out a dozen flyers that piqued my interest. I deliberately slowed down, knowing that I had four to five more years to explore all that MIT […]
All-weather outings/innings in the Northeast
Year-round climbing around New England (outings) and MIT (innings)
Moving to Boston from the Bay Area to start school at MIT, I had already mentally prepared to reduce my outdoor climbing and indoor climbing train time. Paradoxically, while being in the Bay Area, while I had access to world-class climbing destinations within a 4 hour drive, distance was a barrier that made those destinations […]
Rethinking orientation in the COVID-19 era
How the MIT graduate orientation is reforming itself this year
Orientation is the stepping stone of the graduate student life experience at MIT. Every year, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Orientation Committee (OC) organizes a series of orientation events for incoming graduate students. Unlike many other American universities, the MIT graduate orientation is not a one-day or one-week event. For instance, orientation lasted over four […]
It’s not just about the degree
Grad school is also about becoming the person you want to
The beginning of grad school coincided with a lot of life changes. Grad school was one of them. Moving from Europe to the US was certainly another. However, the biggest life change operated silently, gradually and almost took me by surprise: I became an adult. But importantly, I learned, not without difficulties, how to become […]
