Discover Rackham
A Ph.D. Fireside Chat
The following is a transcript of a Gmail chat between Mike, a student blogger and Ph.D. Student in Kinesiology and Natalie Bartolacci, Academic Program Officer at Rackham Graduate School. For the record, the Gmail chat was not conducted fireside, but the warm imagery...
Being International in a Global Town
The first few times I was asked “How’re you doing,” I would stop in my tracks, feel pleased about how interested in my life this kind person was, take a few seconds to gather my thoughts, start a monologue about my health and happiness and promptly come to a halt when...
Student Spotlight: Logan Casey
“I’ve been into politics since I was 14. I always thought I’d run for office.” Logan, from St. Louis, received his undergraduate degree in political science from Truman State University, a small liberal arts college in Missouri. “In college I got really into the...
Alumni Spotlight: Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur
For Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, graduate education is part of a University of Michigan family legacy. She and her mother were both Barbour Scholars at Michigan, an almost century-old fellowship program for Asian women established by Levi Barbour, then a regent of the...
Student Spotlight: Zhuobin Liang
Zhuobin can’t believe he’s already been here for six years. “I’ll finish in a couple of months, it doesn’t seem real.” Challenged by needing to change labs when his initial PI left the University, Zhuobin’s research involves two different labs and projects. “My...
Student Spotlight: Cat Cassel
Cat’s dissertation, with roots in animal studies and feminist theory, examines insectoid literature through a feminist lens with respect to gender stereotypes and humanization of animal species. She is most intrigued by the way in which insectoid representation...
Tread Water — a Ph.D. Student’s Reflection on His First Semester
“Always look to the positive and never drop your head For the water will engulf us if we do not dare to tread So let’s tread water.” - De La Soul, “Tread Water” Pop quiz: Who are your Top 5 hip-hop groups of the ‘90s? Sorry to drop this on you. It’s no easy question,...
How to be everything
If you get as busy as the church of Agia Foteini, you, too, can be everything! Disclaimer: I am not everything, nor do I have a job yet. I, like most graduate students I know in the humanities, feel the beginnings of an anxiety attack whenever I think about future...
Student Spotlight: Caitlin Townsend
Caitlin is researching the scientific revolution in early modern Europe as it relates to the collection, display and narrative of natural history collections. Her work concentrates on the Royal Society of London as well as other, less formal collectors of fossils and...
Student Spotlight: Austin McCoy
Austin came to Michigan for his doctorate because of the faculty. “That was the deciding factor for me. My research interests were focused on the Midwest, and U-M was the best fit.” An Ohio native, Austin completed his undergraduate and master’s degree in African...