Tag: marine biology

Masters school update + other life updates

I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you! It wasn’t intentional I promise.

If you know me, I “love” to keep busy so I’ve been up to a lot. I just got back from a three week vacation in Alaska and those vlogs will all be up soon on my youtube. The first Alaska vlog is actually already up here.

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My first semester of graduate school ended back in mid May and it was a hard one. I don’t even know how to describe it briefly, but it was a lot mentally and emotionally. The Australian time difference was taxing, but even more so, doing it all virtual was so isolating. It was just me in my room on zoom late at night in class all alone. It made me really miss the experience of being surrounded by other people in the same boat as me as well as being able to ask the professor questions in real time (not wait for them to check the chat minutes later).

My second semester starts tomorrow actually (I’m terrified) so that shall be interesting. Since Australian semesters go 1 & 2, instead of spring & fall, I only had about a month off as a “winter break” in semesters. I even took an accelerated course on the statistical program “R” which ended the other day. So that’s been OH so much fun.

I got a new part time job, which if you’ve keeping up with my youtube vlogs, or instagram, that would be no surprise. I hit a breaking point with my job at Lululemon and decided it was my time to move on. For shts and giggles, before leaving Lululemon, I looked into other jobs. I came across this whale watching naturalist position and though it was cool but didn’t think much past that. I briefly mentioned the job listing to family and friends and they strongly encouraged me to apply, so I did. I applied on a Saturday, got reached out for an interview that Tuesday, got hired Thursday and left Lululemon on Friday (a crazy week for sure). So I am a whale watching naturalist on a whale watching boat!

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Oh, wait, did I mention on here I got published finally? I think I did cause that seems like forever ago. But my undergraduate thesis got published alongside a professor I worked with in New Zealand earlier this year. Crazy enough, the first time my article was cited (in May) was by HARVARD!!!!!! super insane.

Anyway, I think that’s enough rambling for now.

Hope you all have been well!

As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

foot
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How I am Going to Graduate School Internationally During the Pandemic

Happy Sunday!

I filmed an updated full Masters Journey. I tried to make the video more cohesive than my original one. I go more into detail on some of the more recent updates. Thanks so much for sticking with me through this journey!

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As always thank you SO much for all of your support,

Lots of love,

foot

ALSO

What kind of content would you like more of from me?

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Positive Masters Degree Updates – Feb 2021

I have an EXCITING life update.

If you’ve been keeping up with my masters degree journey of the ups and downs, the questions & the unknowns…

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BUT if not, here’s a quick rundown: I applied to get into a masters program in Australia last year that I was dreaming of, got rejected, was told I didn’t quality for the degree but I reapplied, got accepted, was told I could do some courses online as I’m still very much stuck in states, tried to enroll in courses, was told last week that it might actually not be possible to start online with all of the lab and field work, and FINALLY last night was told that I could officially take courses online (at least part time to start) and I WILL be able to start my masters degree while stuck here in the states with the Australian borders being closed.

Here are a few other posts going into my journey.

An emotional chat with my masters professor

Here is an update to my post yesterday so check that out here first! My call with my professor last night went more somber than i ever thought was possible. I’m feeling much better today than I was yesterday. Basically, it’s up in the air if i can even start my masters online since the degree is a lot of lab and field…

Emo International Masters Update – this keeps getting harder

I guess you could call this part two of “road to my masters”. Just me being honest here. I got another update on the graduate program I’ve been trying to apply to for very close to two years now. Here’s the next update: Thanks, as always, for all the support, Ashleigh

My Entire Graduate School Journey + Updates

I decided to finally sit down and lay my entire masters journey out. Check out the video below (it’s a long one) while maybe sipping on a nice cup of coffee. I really wanted to create a cohesive bit with everything from how I got into marine science, how I chose my masters program and hopefully where I’ll be going from here. *spoiler…

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okay, that was a lot, but yeah, that’s what’s going on.

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So, I get to start at least two courses this month (the start of the Australian semester) and they sound incredible i’m so excited! and then if I’m still unable to get into Australia by July (fingers crossed I’ll be able to), there are some courses lined up for me that I would be able to take second semester this year. so it’s been a rollercoaster of yes and no’s, ups and downs, and LOTS of anxiety.

Sadly the rollercoaster is far from over but I am so thrilled to say that I will FINALLY be able to start my masters this month. WOW.

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I ALSO filmed a full video update going more in detail into all of this and I will be posting that later this week!

As always thank you SO much for all of your support,

Lots of love,

foot

why New Zealand?

A question I get often is why New Zealand? Why would you want to study abroad there? Why go so far away?

I find myself drawn to the mountains: the elevation, the dramatic landscapes, etc. I vacationed to Alaska a lot growing up (I mean I’m still growing up.. but you catch my drift), and seeing what rocky coasts had to offer struck an interest with me.

With my major at university being marine biology, the undergraduate programs abroad are limited. Europe has more graduate level programs over undergrad, and with myself being fortunate enough to have traveled there a few times before, I was craving something different. South America is rich with options in a tropical scene, so that was indeed an option. Although, that part of the world has not sparked my priority just yet (Galapagos, I’ll come for you soon).

A far-off-opposite-land existed in a distant dream. Oceania is far from me, to say the least, but distance has never stopped me; It brought the difference I yearned for. My father has told me stories about his trip to Australia and New Zealand, and raved about the landscapes of the South Island of New Zealand. With that in the back of my mind, I tended to flip immediately to the “Oceania” section of the massive study abroad books. The books were filled with programs I could choose from, and some specialties of each university.

I came across the University of Otago, which is located in the southern part of the South Island of New Zealand. The specialty courses listed happened to be marine biology, and with further research, I found how famous their science program is. Long story short, I had my heart set on attending this university and was accepted this past summer.

My excitement cannot be contained for how this semester abroad with advance my future career as a marine biologist.

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