Lessons From the First Two Weeks of Graduate School

Amanda

The first two weeks of graduate school have been a whirlwind of classes, meeting people, reading, (lots and lots of reading), and exploring life as a Michigan student.  From these experiences, I’ve already learned several things both in and out of the classroom:

 

• There’s a lot of reading assigned in graduate school, but you’re not expected to read it all (and your professors know it!)  Rather than read to read, read to get the main idea: learn what you’re supposed to learn and move on.
• Try a variety of courses; one of my favorite classes is way outside of epidemiology but gives me a new perspective to look at public health.
• Difficulty falling asleep?  Due to some late-night internet browsing of my own, I read that staring at a computer screen before going to bed results in problems falling asleep.  Random, but useful.
• Get involved!  Join a student public health organization, start research with a professor, decide to complete a certificate program, make the most of your experience at UofM. Many people have encouraged the importance of this!
• Exercise is a great stress reliever.  Nothing clears my head like a good run, and getting outside is refreshing after class all day.
• Public health is not an isolated field; it has aspects in every part of our lives!  Just consider how all your classes are integrated: epidemiological studies create the data (analyzed using biostatistics) for comparing health systems in various countries, health education programs can improve living conditions, and global ties places it all in a worldwide view.  One of my favorite parts of the Public Health program here at Michigan is discovering these interactions between different areas of public health.

What else have you learned from your first experiences as a graduate student?  What has been exciting these past few weeks, and do you have any advice to share?