Graduation has come and gone for the PCOM Biomedical Sciences Class of 2012. I know that no matter what the journey has been to accomplish this achievement, we all have worked so hard and most definitely earned a moment of glory! Congratulations to everyone!
My experiences during the first year the Biomedical Sciences program at PCOM have strengthened my knowledge base of the sciences and enhanced my appreciation of just how complex and useful science is toward piecing together the processes involved in human health and illness. The advancement of medicine would be incomplete without scientific progress. And this was part of the big picture lesson that I more fully realized while pursuing the research concentration during my second year of the program.
Now, I would just like to take a moment to share with you some words of wisdom, a handful of hopefully helpful hints on surviving and thriving in graduate school. My first tip would be to work smart. While, of course it is a known fact that you must work diligently to achieve your goals, it is important to be efficient! This means understanding how you best study and absorb ideas with the goal of truly learning the material you need. Gauge the tools, tangible and abstract, that will help you move forward to thoroughly understand the concepts you will need, whether it be in preparation for a test, how to plan an experiment, or learning how one idea fits into a more complex one.
Secondly, take time. Remember to pencil in time for activities that make you, well ... you. Meaning to say, take time for what is important to shaping who you are and contributes to your success ... by the way, this includes SLEEP! Seize those opportunities that enable you to grow by stepping outside of your comfort zone. Take time to appreciate the resources available to you, and use them to your benefit to enhance what you know.
Lastly, have fun! No one wants to be around a boring grad student who only talks about their research all day and all night! Get out and live a little!
Also, the website scholarships.com reviews ways to make the most of your graduate eduction in the article, “Top 10 Tips for Surviving Graduate School,” found at the following website: http://www.scholarships.com/resources/after-college/graduate-and-professional-school/top-10-tips-for-surviving-graduate-school/. My favorite snippets of wisdom from the site’s features are: 1) Take initiative, 2) Get organized, and 3) Prioritize.
And now, as I end my final blog post, I am reminded of that cliché phrase that although graduation marks an end, it also symbolizes another beginning. So onward to next chapter I charge, full of unknowns and new horizons that I eagerly anticipate! But, I will remain thankful for and remember the challenging times and lessons learned, the people I met and true friends made, and the experiences I’ve gathered over the past two years.
