Fellowship Experiences

Most people remember learning about the water cycle in grade school: evaporation, transpiration, precipitation, and condensation. We may not all remember exactly how they fit into the cycle, but can draw some resemblance from memory. I am willing to bet you can come up with something fairly close if you tried to now.

I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw my colleague’s question in an email. “Would you be available to staff a 24-hour Ocean Exploration STEM event with Admiral Gallaudet, Dr. Ballard, and Senator Moran next week?”

Deciding whether to pursue a PhD in a scientific field can feel the same as Hamlet’s phrase contemplating between existence and non-existence. For a young person deciding his or her life’s course, it’s a pretty big decision. A PhD is a long-term commitment filled with a lot of work and little pay. Will you enjoy it? Or will you simply endure it?

To be a shellfish farmer means long days on your feet, embracing harsh weather while lifting heavy cages. It all takes a toll over time. But a day on the water is another dollar in your pocket, so you push through and persevere. I spent many days out in the heat and in the cold grading, counting, and bagging clams and oysters for whoever was hiring for a season.

This is the third semester of my master’s program in biology at Salisbury University, and it has been a long one. On top of completing my final sampling season, taking the last few classes, typing my manuscript, juggling a part-time job, and attempting to have some sort of social life, I also began a teaching assistantship.