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After next week, GradHacker will be on summer break for a couple months. But, as every graduate student knows, this does not mean that we are spending our days with our feet in the sand and a beer in our hand (well, at least not everyday).
So, this summer, here is what we plan on getting up to:
Heather: I am determined to finish my degree this academic year! So all of my plans and goals revolve around getting my third chapter finished, with edits done on the other two. I have cut back on my hours at work; I’ve created an achievable writing plan. Besides that, I am training for a 50-mile bike ride, which is coming up in October. Since hurting my back, it will be the longest I’ve ridden, and I can’t wait!
Patrick: My goal of having a meaningful experience in each state will get one degree closer to completion this summer when I spend a week in July trying to get to every brewery in Boulder. Also, I’ve assembled a personal summer concert series that includes both Joshua Redman (first time) and Kid Rock (second time), so please hold my calls.
Brady: I have a summer fellowship and am going to spend most of the summer working on research for my dissertation and working my way through my comprehensive exam reading list. This is going to involve a little speedreading and a little writing, but mostly it’s going to involve shifting gears and spending a lot of time thinking about the direction that I want my dissertation to go. Even more importantly, I’m also going to read one book for pleasure each month, ride my bike at least once a week, and spend a lot of time relaxing and hanging out with my partner.
Regina: I am going to be intentional...intentional about spending time with loved ones; positively pouring into the lives of family, friends, colleagues, and complete strangers; and laughing daily. In sum, I will be intentional about living passionately on purpose. Speaking of purpose, I was blessed to be selected to participate in the 2018 Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians, which will take place in July. This Institute has been on my radar for approximately two years; I am extraordinarily grateful to have an opportunity to engage with aspiring leaders from underrepresented backgrounds in the field of Library and Information Science this summer.
Deidra: Since I received my doctorate in May, I’m forcing myself to enjoy a respite from prolonged stints of academic research, writing, and thinking before revising my dissertation chapters into potential journal articles. This summer I’m working part-time as a university staff assistant for a writing and rhetoric department and plan to teach in the fall. Not going to lie–I’m already spending these post-doc days filled with anxiety about the uncertainty of my next career move, but during this break, among other things, I’m going to continue to binge my way through the current season of Midsomer Murders.
Alyssa: Since I still have some items on my to-do list from last summer, I’m paring this summer’s list down as much as possible and planning for the rest time I know I need. That said, I agreed to write a chapter about auto/biographical research and Autistic life writing this summer. I’m also revising some prior work, forming my committee, and figuring out a dissertation topic.
Megan: This summer is hard-core dissertation mode for me. With a conference in June, defense in July, and moving to a new city in August, I’ve had to cut back and focus on finishing—hence why I’ve been MIA on GradHacker recently. While this has definitely thrown off my work life balance, I can only keep reminding myself that there will always be more I want to do but a done dissertation is better than perfect. I’ll be back in the fall to share how it went and about transitioning to life on the other side. See you guys then!
How about you? What’s on your summer docket?
[Image by Flickr user Piervincenzo Madeo and used under a Creative Commons license.]
