Candidate for What?

This week has been full of ups and downs as I prepared to finish my preliminary examinations. If you don't know, mid-way through a PhD program, a student takes preliminary examinations, which are a set of tests designed by a student's committee to evaluate whether the student has developed a substantial understanding of their field. If a student passes the exams, they are admitted to candidacy, while failure can result in a number of repercussions, including termination of schooling for the student. This week, I am excited to announce that I advanced to PhD candidacy, which marks the second-last major milestone in the PhD program; the last, in my opinion, is the prospectus defense at the very end. I started preparing for these exams in May, and I am glad to see tests finally finished. Nothing feels different, though, but I have the knowledge that I have a full team of accomplished professors who believe in my abilities and my passion for what I am doing. I had to give up time at the lab during my exam preparations, so you know that I am going to be getting back to my research as soon as possible.

A few weeks ago I talked about how red tide has been bothersome in northern Florida, and I am happy to report that it has gone done. Although the blooms are not gone, I expect that the cold (60 degree) weather we are about to get is going to put a damper on their proliferation. After 3 years here, I still laugh at myself when I put on jeans in 60 and 70 degree weather, as if I didn't grow up in a state regularly inundated with snow and cold. My plans for the next few weeks are to get as much work done with nematodes as possible, because once I get out into the field I will turn my attention to processing all the sediment and removing microplastics. However, my two laboratory assistants will be exceptionally helpful in getting through the samples faster than before, which means I will have time to do more laser work and finally get nematodes identified.

There's a lot more to come from this work, but I am excited to have come so far!