Meeting #7 Student Advice Panel: RESEARCH

Vesla Hauan Nilsen, Courtney Burns, Melissa Ciampaglia, Kristey Potgieter, Aliah Banchik, Aaron Hasenei, Jaelen Myers

Student Advice Panel on RESEARCH

Thank you again to everyone who attended Monday’s student advice research panel. It was so refreshing to speak candidly about the research pathway and learn about all the different paths to get there. Thank you for your thoughtful questions and for creating a safe space for communication.

Massive thank you to our panelists who shared some incredible insight and advice ranging from undergraduate research to Ph.D. research.

Some highlights from the talks included:

• Learning about the different levels of higher education (Honours, Masters, MPhil, Ph.d.) and hearing about the experiences the panelists had pursuing these

• Candidly talking about the constant struggle that is finding a work-life balance

• Gaining a better understanding of “networking” and how to successfully “get out of the inbox and into real life.”

• Learning about the diverse educational background of the panelists ranging from successful careers in accounting, physio-sports science, psychology, and more!

• Learning that research is inherently a collaborative and creative journey and that struggling with school and getting good grades may not mean you won’t be good at or enjoy research. It is a team sport and a completely different skillset than conventional coursework

Advice from Aliah

Networking

GET OUT OF THEIR INBOX AND INTO THEIR LIFE

• If there is a person of interest to you in your city, school or general vicinity, my best advice would be to send a quick email and invite them to lunch or a coffee. Just chat with them. Ask them questions about their life, their work, and just be a person! You do not always have to use every speaking opportunity to shove your resume down their throats…at the end of the day, we are all human and so people may forget all the achievements you listed off during your coffee break with them, but they will almost certainly remember how you made them feel

  • so make sure you don’t forget to create meaningful, genuine connections…character is just as important (if not more) than your resume so take pride in being a good person:)

• If you will not be able to casually run into a person of interest, email may be your best bet. Send a personal but brief and to-the-point email with an actionable goal…not just “I love your work and want to get involved!”…something specific and doable…like getting a coffee

• People loooveeee talking about their work. If you can get that person either on the phone, on Zoom, or face to face for a coffee aks ask them to just talk about their work, then I guarantee you they will remember you.

  • All you have to say is “I am really curious about X part of your work…would you be willing to sit down and grab a coffee for 15 min this week to discuss the work you’re doing? I have some questions I would like to ask…”

    • then the magic happens….be a person…not a robot

Work-Life Balance

PLAN FOR SUCCESS

• Many of the panelists echoed the fact that “you time” does not just come naturally without proper planning…and I have learned this the hard way these past 2 years…

• We make detailed to-do lists and schedules to help us accomplish our work goals, but what about our personal goals? Those deserve just as much attention.

• SOLUTION: block out parts in your calendar for YOU time. Maybe sign yourself up for a weekly pottery class, rock climbing session, or hike. Put that into your calendar so the next time someone asks, “hey are you free Tuesday at 4 PM?” you can look at your schedule and say “ahh nope! I have something during that time”

  • THAT is self love, and prioritizing YOUR well-being. You deserve that.

• Another thing that has helped me visualize what I want my life to look like is by creating a pie chart and dividing it into the main sections of my life like this above

• This has helped me visualize my work-life balance ***at this stage in my life*** tremendously…For example, I started with 50% of my pie chart being “work” and only then realized that I was not giving myself enough space or time for “life”!

  • Give this little exercise a try…I am curious to know if this helps you and who doesn’t need a little Excel or Canva practice;)

• I hope this helps, and I am always here to chat about study advice, life advice, and anything in between, so don’t be afraid to reach out!

  **For all my overachievers out there, check out the Calmly Coping podcast on Spotify and listen to the episode on “Toxic Productivity”…that was super helpful for me