To stay in academia or not, that is the question
Weighing the costs versus the benefits of pursuing an academic career
Should I stay in academia or not after I graduate? It’s a question that most PhD students find themselves asking at some point in their graduate careers. Some have unequivocal answers from the beginning, while others struggle with the decision even towards the end of their studies. Some just don’t want to think about it […]
What Do I Do with My Spare Change?
Learning to be proactive with my money and financial habits
I am now at that age (25!) where I have become too old not A) to be fully aware of my financial situation and its grim reality, and B) to realize that I need to begin investing what I have if I plan on retiring. Now this thought scares me terribly, as I’m sure it […]
Impostor Syndrome vs. the Scientific Method
My strategies for fighting the idea that I don't belong at MIT
I received my acceptance letter to MIT a few days after the 2017 Oscars – shortly after a human error led to the wrong film being announced as Best Picture winner live on national television. The mix-up loomed large in my mind. As I slowly read the email informing me that I had been […]
Being very far away…
Always make time to talk to your loved ones
Dear Friend, I am going to tell you a very personal story that has changed my perspective towards the many challenges that become default as you move forward as an MIT Ph.D. student. It was a Tuesday evening, and I was in the Z-center, the athletic facility at MIT. I was standing on the second […]
Behind on the race towards education
How we can tackle the systemic problems that affect disadvantaged students
Skimming through current MIT undergraduates’ CVs (for potential UROPs), I realized I probably wouldn’t have gotten into MIT for an undergraduate degree. There wasn’t really anything exciting about me five years ago. Back home in Puerto Rico, competitiveness to get into college isn’t really a thing. At some point during high school, those of us […]
