First Draft, Done!

Yesterday I submitted the first draft of my thesis to my advisor. In two weeks we will meet so she can give me feedback, and then I have two more weeks to complete the final draft.

I am therefore giving myself one week "off." By which I mean I will catch up on classwork that has been neglected, housework that has been neglected, and the job search. Oh and make time for a quick blog post :) The second week I will ease back into thesis work and come prepared to meet with my advisor.

This quarter I only have to take two classes because the third is "thesis workshop," which just means work on your thesis on your own time. I am taking Mixed Methods Approaches to Policy Research (or something like that) at the Harris School of Public Policy. That's where I took the class for the Our Great Rivers project last quarter. The course looks at how studies integrate qualitative and quantitative data. I enrolled because I wanted to keep exploring public policy and this course seemed like it would be something good to have experience in. I find it super interesting though because we have talked about studies done in Chicago and they're fascinating! I am also taking Estudio de Literatura y Culturas Ibericas y Latinoamericanas. Turns out I am the only master's student in this one, the rest are PhD students and all are native Spanish speakers except for one. We've been discussing basically the existence of Latin American studies, what "Latin America" even means, etc. and it is also geared towards preparing these future college professors, so it's been interesting to see that. Both classes are one day a week (Monday and Wednesday respectively) from 3-5:50PM.

I am officially done with ACT test prep tutoring, my Saturdays are mine! I no longer meet my Our Great Rivers project group, my Sundays are mine! I am down to just my Experimental Station job, which I have been doing once a week for five hours, but I might up that to two days since I can fit it.

I applied to 5 internships this summer and received a solid no from 4 of them. There is a very small chance I get the fifth ,so I am looking for a full-time gig now and one that preferably starts right after graduation/graduation road trip. Oh and pays loads of money so I can pay off the panic-attack worthy amount of money I now owe (again).

Just when we thought the cold days were over, it started snowing again. Light stuff, but it has made everything cold again.

Alright well, those are all of the things I can think to share. Honestly nothing too exciting has been going on. I have just been working on my thesis, in my room, all the time. Hope you are all doing well!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter in Chicago

Image
There was a week or two end of November/beginning of December where it got pretty cold, but it's actually been in the 30s/40s which has been quite pleasant. Of course I say that now as I look out on a cold grey sky. I have yet to go ice skating, but one winter activity I participated in this year was the holiday train! Each year the CTA trains get decked out with Christmas music, decorations, etc. and Santa even rides the train. I think they usually do it twice for each line (I rode it on the Red Line) and then a few buses get decorated as well. I was torn between letting it happen spontaneously (i.e. showing up for the morning or evening commute as usual and getting a wonderful surprise) and actually looking up the schedule and making sure to catch it. I opted for the latter since I didn't ride it last year. This means I arrived to the train early from my internship and stuck around as three trains passed, waiting for the holiday one. And I was not disappointed! The seats we...
Read more

Update: Job Search

Image
As I continue my search, I am now tutoring 3 days a week with Academic Approach and will start a weekend program in a few weeks as well. This is will be how I pay the bills and will ease much of the stress of the job hunt. Of course I could have been doing this the whole time, but I thought I would have a job by now. Additionally, I am now an English tutor of children in China through VIPKids. I have yet to teach my first online class (it's a one-on-one setting), but my availability is open so hopefully I'll book some slots any day now. I am most excited about starting an (unpaid) internship with the Metropolitan Planning Council Thursday Nov. 1. They were the client I worked with during the winter quarter on the Our Great Rivers project. I could have also been doing this the whole time, but, again, I thought I would have a job by now. In my "spare" time I will continue to apply for jobs and network. I do have a phone interview coming up, but I'll spare y...
Read more

Boston Marathon, here I come!

Image
September 1st I ran a marathon in Madison, WI in an attempt to qualify for Boston so that I can run it with Patrick next year (who qualified in March at a race at Virginia Beach). My friend Abigail (a classmate I met fall quarter of last year and who I have run with a lot in Hyde Park) and I rented a car and drove up there the day before to pick up by bib and explore Madison, where neither of us had been before. Arriving before the pick up time, we drove straight to the capital building to take a look around. A nice building with access to an upper, outdoor deck with panoramic views of the city, which boasts two lovely lakes. Afterwards we ate a mediocre lunch and headed to the packet pick up location. I wasn't aware beforehand, but the race was tiny (131 marathon runners) so the expo was pretty uneventful. We next drove to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum where we enjoyed a lovely walk among the trees. Because you're not supposed to be on your feet too muc...
Read more