Beyond the page: Postgrad passions

by Lara Sanderson, Megan Anakin, Lien Trinh & Keely Blanch.

 It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, 

that man finds his supreme joys. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

In this collaborative post we welcome both new and regular contributors to this blog to reflect on their passions beyond the page. This marks the beginning of a series of posts celebrating not only the postgrad but the lives! Often encouraged to write a thesis in an area we are passionate about (so we maintain our focus), it is not surprising that our passions can in fact reflect our topic or vice versa. However, when deep in the thesis writing or research it is also those passions that tend to take a back seat to the task of producing a thesis. This can lead to a mourning the loss of those passions, yet as Megan reflects, its the everyday passions that can be incorporated so you never have a sense of 'missing out' or it can be a big reward like overseas travel as Lien discusses.

1. What are you most passionate doing outside of your research?
 

Photo: Lien Trin, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: (other than my family) riding my bicycle. For example, on Friday morning I went out for a stellar ride - meaning I was out at 5am with the star draped heavens above me. There was no moon and the air was dry so you could see every star in the sky. Riding in the pitch black can be hazardous, such as not seeing the road, but the benefits of being bathed in starlight make it worth the challenge - kind of like doing a PhD isn't it?

Lien: Photography, video shooting/ editing, traveling (backpacking) 

Lara: I am passionate about many things but my current 'obsession' would be the ukelele orchestra that I play with - the Uni Ukes 

Keely: Hmmm, my initial thought was that some days it feels like I don't do anything except couch potato, but then I actually looked at what I have been doing lately - worked on the NZ Ethics Committee; Twittered/Facebooked/blogged; did a bit of sewing/crafts; read a few books ranging from total trashy romance novels to thrillers; beach walks or hikes with the family (weather-permitting); and yes, I did do some couch surfing with Netflix. My ' passion' for any one activity varies depend on the day I've had. 


 2. Do you get time/make time for this? If so how often do you do it? 

Megan: Everyday if I can. 

Lien: Photography: once every 2-3 months Video editing: once a week Traveling abroad: once a year or once every 2 years 

Lara: I have the opportunity to jam with them once a week but this varies depending on writing stage

Keely: I tend to do these things in the evenings when I get home and I just can't thesis anymore, or in the weekends when I'm trying not to thesis. When life gets busy it's too easy to put a low priority on 'me-time' and fun pursuits, but I learnt my lesson with my MA about keeping some balance in there and not making it a habit to work 7 days a week except for rare occasional bursts. 

 3.How do you manage the Postgrad/Life balance? 

Photo: Lien Trinh, Puppet Colony, Jaipur

Megan: I struggle everyday. I find scheduling in time for my passions outside of research allows them to happen.

Lien: I try to work in the office, and once my son's gone to bed- I try my best to be involved in as many family activities as I can (I do struggle finding time for myself though- like doing things I love, not that I don't like doing things as a family) 

Lara: I don't manage - or at least I manage it very poorly - but then at times it seems that its going ok(ish) 

 Keely: Sometimes balance goes out the window if there is a deadline on and other commitments making demands, but for the most part I try not to work weekends or evenings after dinner. 

4. Words of wisdom to people struggling with the PG/Life balance 

Megan: Appreciate that it is a struggle and there's no silver bullet but sheer persistence - just like completing a PhD. 

Lien: Try to get a scholarship so you don't have to work part time. 

Lara: You are not alone! 

Keely: Treat your PhD like a job. If you don't prioritise time for you and your partner/ family then you will struggle to get through the MA year, let alone 3+ years of a PhD. 

Postcard from Darwin

by Sylvia Robertson

Water garden MGD©.jpg By MGDboston

I am sitting working in a tropical rainforest garden. At 34 degrees and near 100% humidity, my brain is fizzing. Distraction is inevitable so I will scribble something about my PhD experience to date.

I am one of those annoyingly passionate, conscientious mature-age students. I can’t leave learning alone. I graduated with a BA in philosophy and English literature in 1982 and reluctantly left university to attend Teachers College. With some reservations, I began teaching for three years to satisfy the requirements of my bond. Three turned into thirty years across Wellington, Sydney, and London. I taught all primary and intermediate years, and held several leadership positions. I loved teaching. It allowed me to keep learning and discovering. Children present you with rich perspectives on all things from forked tongue lizards to fantasy friends. While teaching in London and Sydney and still addicted to learning, I completed two thirds of a Masters in sociolinguistics and educational leadership. Back home, I finished the Masters in Education and began my PhD.

Now I feel somewhat guilty about the luxury of ‘just’ being a student. After working fulltime, raising two kids and the effort involved in transitioning countries and cultures, I have almost total control over how I choose to spend my time. If this project fails, I will only have myself to blame but if it succeeds, it will be because I chose to make it happen. This is powerful stuff after being at the beck and call of others for years. Intellectual freedom, I suppose, in that I don’t have to conform too much to the thinking and direction of others. Incredibly humbling, I think, as we tiptoe in the footprints of giants who have grappled with similar issues since the dawn of time. Also incredibly humbling, in that I am working with real people and the issues they face in often-difficult contemporary contexts. 

There have been challenges. The skills you bring from the work place are very useful – time management not the least. However, Humanities in the late seventies did not prepare me for studying with technology. When I started we had microfiche. Despite surviving a technology rich workplace nothing has prepared me for EndNote! But I have found the support of university staff and my colleagues invaluable. And at my age you can get away with asking really dumb questions!

Lastly, if you are contemplating this – do it. Not only will you get to reflect on years of work experience and relationships but you will learn about yourself as well. Make the most of every precious minute but be kind to yourself as well. This is also hard work.

Festivalling - Week One

by Keely Blanch
 
Otago Uni has been buzzing lately with all the events for the Graduate Research festival. There has been so much on offer thanks to the wonderful team at GRS, and I'm not sure it's humanly possible to make it to everything available! Here's a quick rundown of my festival experiences so far.

Supervisor of the Year Awards

 

First up in my festivalling was the OU Supervisor of the Year awards. The awards themselves were a swanky affair - several of the presenters even breaking out suits for the event! (I'll admit that fact impresses me, because as a PhD student some days the only thing stopping me from a life in track-pants is having to go into the office - and even then it can be close.) We all assembled in the Staff Club, and partook of delicious food - especially those truffles! Mmmmm......

Competition for these awards is fierce. Students nominate supervisors, sing their praises, and wax lyrical. This wealth of data is then passed on to a hard-working judging panel, who have the difficult task of working through the glowing accolades and making the ultimate decision. Awards are made for Divisional Supervisors, and New Supervisor of the Year, as well as the supreme award. This year saw Associate Professor Ruth Fitzgerald, of Social Anthropology, crowned the OUSA Supervisor of the Year for 2014. Details of all the winners are on the Otago Bulletin Board. 

Otago Day of the Girl Symposium 

 

                    

The first week of the festival ended, for me, with a hectic, but very enjoyable day of symposiums and workshops. Although not part of the official festival programme, the Otago Day of the Girl symposium on Friday morning was a fabulous celebration of 'girlhood', with presentations from a wide range of 'girls'. There were films, pecha kucha talks, games, music, delicious food, and animated conversations throughout the morning. This event was put on by several hard-working UOCE postgrads - Kim Brown, Tracy Rogers, Lara Sanderson, as well as Assoc. Prof Karen Nairn, and a raft of helpers. All credit to the entire team for such a wonderful event!

Pointing the way to the comfortable venue at Executive Programmes, in the Commerce building.

Kicking the celebrations off with music from the Global Sounds Ukelele Group

NZARE Student Caucus Workshops 

 

Immediately after the Day of the Girl celebrations, we rushed (literally!) down to the College of Education for the NZARE Student workshops (also organised by UOCE postgrads led by Megan Anakin - we're a motivated group). It was heartening to see that these workshops drew a range of postgrads from across the campus. Much thanks to the four great presenters who agreed to generously give their time to talk us through various aspects of the postgraduate research journey. 

Dr Clinton Golding of HEDC was up first and presented  'Strategies for a successful research journey'. 

Key point  - it is your thesis, your research journey, your responsibility to do the work and get it finished. Clinton's analogy is that supervisors are like doctors - they can provide advice, but they can't do it for you.

Other points Dr Golding offered:

• Academic work/research is about being part of a community, communicating and sharing ideas with peers etc - Conveniently, there was a Networking seminar offered in the second week ;)
• you need to 'manage' your supervisor. That may fill some people with dread, but essentially it's about figuring out what works for both of you and negotiating. Tips are to consider using an agenda before the meeting to set tone, and follow that with a summary email [this tip also came up in a later seminar by The Thesis Whisperer, coming soon].
• supervisors give advice - you do not have to take it, but they are experts in their field, so ignore it at your peril.
• don't be scared to ask other researchers in your field for advice - just email them.
• Thesis writing is a roller coaster. Figure out what support you need and get it. 
• Plan, plan, plan - for the next ten years. Keep your eye on the end goal. Set micro-goals to get a sense of achievement which will help with motivation.
• write write, write - submit when you're 95% happy because you are never going to be 100% happy

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Our second workshop was 'Experimenting with our Academic Writing' presented by Assoc. Prof Karen Nairn. During this very interactive workshop, we worked in pairs to analyse a paragraph of our writing and try to improve it using the techniques offered by Williams, J. & Bizup, J. (2013). Style: Lessons in clarity and grace (11th edition). Boston: Longman. This book is available though the University Bookshop - and don't forget uni students get a discount. 

Key points are to concentrate on Subjects and Characters; Verbs and Actions; and Nominalisations. Our writing group has been using this book this year. Personally, I've found that focusing on the techniques can inhibit my first draft writing, but they are a useful tool at the re-write/editing stage. 

Dr Nairn is also offering a course for postgraduates in 2015. The aim of this course is to have a journal article ready for submission by the end of the course. More details are available at the GRS blog, or through the UO College of Education. 

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After a brief afternoon tea break with delicious food (there's a theme developing here....) we returned for the afternoon sessions.

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Assoc. Prof Martin Tolich from the Dept. of Sociology, Gender and Social Work introduced the topic of 'Planning ethically responsible research' and the need for the ethical review process. MA student Amber Chambers then talked about her MA findings, issues of gate-keeping and negotiating access, issues of confidentiality, and the need to expect the unexpected during the entire research process. This generated a discussion on the ways terminology such as 'gate-keeper' may construct the process of researching as adversarial. The topic of researching in schools drew particular attention, with some of the audience noting that principals have a duty of care to protect their busy staff from intrusions and distractions, although a counterargument offered is that teachers should be responsible for their own time management. 

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We rounded off the afternoon with an engaging talk from Dr Vivienne Anderson about her journey to 'Becoming an academic'.  Dr Anderson offered examples from her own roundabout route to academia to show that what may seem a left-field diversion can often turn out to lead you where you want to go. Good advice was to be strategic in your academic decisions, acknowledge all the skills you develop during your many twists and turns, and don't forget there is nothing to lose by applying! Although exhausted after our busy day, it was good to finish on a positive and inspiring note.

The UOCE postgrads and all who attended would like to thank all those who so generously and willingly gave their time to help make the day a great success. 

What was your key take home point from the day? Did you feel inspired? Did somebody say something that resonated with you? I'm sure there is so much more that I've missed from these brief notes, so add away in the comments.