by Laura Fernandes | Feb 14, 2014 | Student Voices
Not all of us come with the kind of privileged backgrounds of “Gossip Girl,” who might actually not be attending graduate school in the first place! I thought a blog post on how to survive on a student budget might be helpful for students in graduate...
by Laura Fernandes | Apr 23, 2013 | Student Voices
I have been on a hiatus since my last blog post. Coming here to U-M five years ago, I expected to graduate with a Ph.D. before changing my marital status but sometimes the least expected relationships happen at the most unexpected times. As though being a graduate...
by Laura Fernandes | Oct 2, 2012 | Student Voices
I feel like a citizen of the world!! I have explored two new countries and presented at two different statistical conferences since my last blog post. I had a very busy and eventful summer this year and now it seems like I have so many deadlines to catch up with, a...
by Laura Fernandes | May 11, 2012 | Student Voices
As a doctoral student in the process of writing my thesis proposal the academic year is a big long blur of deadlines; spring break, summer break, winter break, graduation week, welcome week. They all seem irrelevant, it is one endless stretch with recursive events of...
by Laura Fernandes | Apr 4, 2012 | Student Voices
In the Department of Biostatistics we have a plaque inscribed with the names of exceptional students from past years. Early on in the academic program clearing the qualifying examinations and becoming a Ph.D. candidate is a relief and getting the award for the top...
by Laura Fernandes | Mar 6, 2012 | Student Voices
As an international student my decision to come to U-M did not involve a campus visit, a meeting with a professor or experiencing the opulence of the department which seems defacto in decision making by most students. None of these are feasible for most international...
by Laura Fernandes | Feb 6, 2012 | Student Voices
I thought about this month’s piece and decided that I had to speak for the people like me who love the snow! I absolutely love the snow and feel that the cold in the winter is the "price" to pay for this "fanciful" liking. And I say...
by Laura Fernandes | Jan 3, 2012 | Student Voices
During the Spring Break most students at U-M would go home, go on ASB (alternative spring break), sit in the lab or go to Cancun – but the adventurous ones go on a road trip. On one Spring Break four zesty girls decided to explore America from a different...
by Laura Fernandes | Nov 29, 2011 | Student Voices
"What is it like working for/with your advisor?" I am often asked this question when we compare notes among friends on our relationships with our advisors. My advisor amazes me with the amount of energy and creativity he brings to every meeting. I see him...
by Laura Fernandes | Oct 28, 2011 | Student Voices
I remember the first couple of weeks of my first semester, being bombarded with a constant stream of assignments and homework, moving from class to class and defining the start of my week by the day on which I hand in the homework. Towards the middle of the semester I...