Chemist Girl Autumn in Madison – PhD Weeks 59-63

With Twitter’s current decline and Instagram’s focus on video/reels, now is the perfect time for me to continue using my website to document my PhD journey through writing and photos. At least WordPress won’t die on me.

When I first started writing my PhD journey on my website, I set too many rules for my writing. At first, I wanted to write weekly, but then I didn’t make time for it. Slowly it became biweekly, monthly, and now it’s sporadic. I tried to write about my experience and be inspirational or motivational, but then I realized that this type of tutorial-style writing, wasn’t always what I needed or wanted to write. I thought that posts needed to be at least 500-1000 words. In the end, I never wanted to write because I set up these rules which discouraged me from sharing what I wanted to share.

Instead, I’m going to experiment with different types of writing for now. I’m not sure when I will create “content” again, but maybe that will come naturally as I slowly re-discover my voice.

Here’s an overview of what I’ve been doing this fall semester of Year 2 of my PhD, or my chemist girl autumn.

Academic Progress is Slow and Steady.

Unlike last year, I did not have to be a teaching assistant (TA) this semester. Instead, most of September and October were dedicated to writing and completing the NSF GRFP, which I shared more about here, and staying on top of my classes. Currently, I’m taking two classes called Organic Chemistry Mechanisms (describing how organic reactions occur) and Kinetics and Reaction Engineering for Chemists (chemical engineering processes for chemists). Once I finish these classes, my course requirement will be satisfied.

Between the NSF GRFP application and classes, my brain already felt at capacity, and I still had research responsibilities. It’s progressing slower than I initially anticipated, but I am hoping that it will pick up more next semester when I am done with classes. Most of November and December will be dedicated to the final push of experiments and literature review required to complete my thesis background exam (TBE), which I plan to complete by end of February 2023. After I pass the TBE and fill out the necessary forms, I will receive an MS in chemistry.

Having a Routine Keeps Me Grounded.

Although this semester has turned out differently than I expected, it still has been positive overall, thanks to having a solid routine. Last year, the chemistry building was shut down for most of the fall semester, so I didn’t have a space that I could call mine, even for a day. In between classes, I felt displaced, going from building to building to find a microwave or a place to sit and eat my lunch or work on homework. In the spring semester, I joined my lab group and finally got a desk in an office. Now I had a space to go to each day, and I finally felt like I belonged somewhere.

This is what my routine looks like now:

• 7:30AM-8:45AM – Wake up and get ready, eat breakfast, pack lunch, etc.
• 8:45AM-9:30AM – Walk to campus, plan for the day
• 9:30AM-10:45AM – Classes on Mon-Thurs
• 10:45AM-12:30PM – Homework, reading, or lab work
• 12:30PM-1:00PM – Lunch time
• 1:00PM-3:30PM – Homework, reading, or lab work
• 3:30PM-5:00PM – Meetings on Mon and Weds, or more homework, reading, or lab work
• 3:00PM-6:00pm – Orchestra rehearsals on Sun
• 5:30PM-6:00PM – End work, walk home
• 6:00PM-10:00PM – Cook, eat, clean, get ready for bed, etc.

I try to stay on track with what I need to do using Notion, my Passion Planner, a weekly notepad, and Google Calendar. It’s neither perfect nor pretty but things get done (although sometimes I do lose track of things and miss the occasional meeting – more on that another time).

Orchestra Keeps Me Sane.

Last year I thought that I would not get involved in the orchestra until I finished my thesis background exam. By October 2021 (1 month into my PhD), I had a strong urge to join an orchestra. Luckily, I found the Medical Sciences Orchestra and have been an active member ever since. Rehearsals are on Sundays from 3pm-6pm, and I look forward to it every week. It helps time pass by faster.

This semester, I decided to challenge myself by playing in the first violin section. This semester we played movements from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, which was challenging and fun. At first, I wondered why the part was so difficult, and then I realized that I was the one that suggested this piece last year. Our concert was on November 13, which meant that orchestra rehearsals will end 3 weeks earlier than usual. But on the bright side, now I can relax until next semester. Here are the part 1 and part 2 recordings of the orchestra concert.

Finding and Building Community in the Chemistry Department.

Now that I am in a group, I feel more stable to become more active in the chemistry department and in my group. In the chemistry department, I joined the Catalyst mentoring leadership team. Catalyst is a peer mentoring program that helps underserved populations succeed in their first year of graduate school.

Last year, I joined as a mentee, so this year I wanted to pay it forward by becoming a mentor and part of the leadership team so I could contribute to planning the monthly events. In the first monthly event, I presented professional development tools for graduate students, including Owlstown, the academic website builder. We also hosted an apple-picking social event, where I pretended to pick an apple, instead of actually picking apples because I had no idea what I would do with 10 lbs of apples. We also planned a sleep hygiene workshop, where I presented an extra presentation on chronotypes. I also have a mentee, so we’ve also been meeting monthly to discuss PhD life.

Within my group, I helped out with planning social events for the group joining process. In September, we hosted a Tacos and Coffee social at a nearby restaurant. For October, my group has an annual tradition of doing pumpkin carving, thanks to our advisor. This year we didn’t do a Halloween costume contest, but my lab mate and I dressed up as Arthur Read for fun. For November, we held a tie-dye social, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

Other Fun Happenings

• My roommate and I went on a Door County road trip to see the fall foliage (and to celebrate my NSF GRFP submission). It was my second time to Door County. We visited Cave Point County Park, Ellison’s Bluff, and went to the tip of the peninsula. I had my It’s Fall Y’all moment in the golden leaves.
• I’ve been finding a lot of free things lately. First I found a free TV and record player left outside my apartment’s trash room. Then I saw a tweet about a free piano in the Madison area. Naturally, I took them up on their offer. Amazingly, it is in good condition despite being almost 100 years old. The person donating it also offered to pay for the moving, which was very generous. Now I’m waiting to get it tuned.
• One of my bucket list items was to attend a football game here at UW-Madison. One Friday evening my uncle texted me out of the blue to offer free tickets to the Maryland v. Wisconsin game. The weather was expected to be rainy and cold, but I invited my friend and we went anyway. The game itself was OK, and there was nothing super special about Camp Randall (that I know of), but at least now I can say I went.

And just like that, fall is over in Madison. The trees are now bare and the temperature has dipped to the 10s-20s, and will continue dropping. Fortunately, I don’t mind the cold as much as long as I’m layered up. It’s pleasant to see a fresh layer of snow in the morning, especially if it’s sunny out. Here’s to hoping there are more of those days than gloomy ones. It’s already bad enough that it’s dark by 4:30PM.

I hope that you enjoyed reading about my personal experience and takeaways from my chemistry PhD journey. If you’d like to chat more about what I’ve shared, feel free to send me an email at hello@brittanytrinh.com.