Grad School Life after Europe

I can't believe this week marks the beginning of my second year in graduate school. How did last year fly by so quickly? Or my summer Europe adventure for that matter!

 I returned to Chicago last friday, and this monday was the beginning of my fall courses. I certainly didn't give myself much time to get back into the swing of research. I still need to deal with immediate concerns like starting data collection on my master's thesis and figuring out when I need to submit abstracts for conferences. Oh, and there are also classes to contend with. It's a bit overwhelming to think about how much I want to accomplish this year, but I also feel ready to tackle my projects after my 3 week vacation.

As for my grand Eurotrip 2015, here's a run-down of where I went and what I did:

Gdansk(aka Danzig), Poland:

The main street

        Best Experience: Before my trip, I read a historical fiction piece about Poland. One of my favorite historical events mentioned was the Battle of Grunwald (also called the Battle of Tannenburg) where the combined Lithuanian and Polish forces defeated the Teutonic Knights. Well while in Gdansk, I made a side trip to Malbork to see the world's largest gothic castle- the original seat of the Teutonic knights. The red brick walls and towers just seemed to stretch on forever. It was incredible beautiful and epic!

Malbork Castle, aka Marienberg

 
          Worst Experience: I was an idiot and only gave myself 1.5 days to experience the Baltic Sea, the home of Solidarity (first union allowed by USSR), and smaller nearby towns like Sopot. Now I know that I have to go back!

         Unexpected Architecture: I had no idea that Gdansk would feel so Italian, but the city certainly had that vibe thanks to the Flemish and Italian architects who designed the buildings along the main street. The Polish/Renaissance hybrid was beautiful!





Berlin, Germany:

          Best Experience: I took an 'alternative' walking tour where I learned about the grunge/squatter history of the city, and how the young bohemian lifestyle is still going strong. Basically, I got to meet cool people, drink 1 euro beers, and see incredible graffitti! It helped me understand Berlin after the cold war.

          Worst Experience: While running (yes, literally) from the Reichstag building to where my walking tour would start, a wasp stung me on the neck! I got some ice to keep the swelling down, but what really helped was the 'train beer' as we called it. (You can buy beers along the train platforms and just openly drink in public as you go about your business).
          Best Sightseeing: In my mind, there are 2 main sights that you really shouldn't miss when going to Berlin. The first is the Reichstag building, which is where Germany holds Parliament. You can go up in this beautiful glass dome and listen to an audioguide that describes other famous buildings you see as you ascend the spiral walkway. The other must-see is the Monument to the Murdered Jews. It's a memorial that just has to be experienced. There's no other way to put it.

Looking into the dome from the walkway

I've never experienced a monument like this

Monument of the Murdered Jews

Munich, Germany:

Oktoberfest were for sale EVERYWHERE in Munich

          Best Experience: Beer. Duh. Granted, I visited before Oktoberfest so maybe I didn't get the full Munich experience but I'm quite pleased with how this leg of my journey went. I spent at least one meal a day in a BrauHaus, sitting at a long wooden table, meeting locals who are happy to chat you up and share a pint with you. The community was just fantastic.

Lunch at Hofbrauhaus

 


          Worst Experience: I will say, Munich is an older crowd. There were many times where it felt like when my dad and I go out for beers with his friends. I was generally the odd-man out simply by being young and female. However, everyone was just so warm and lovely that I can't really complain.
          Most Unique Museum: I probably should have realized this, but BMW stands for Bayern MotorWerke so of course the massive BMW plant is in the center of Munich. (Bayern is German for Bavaria, the region Munich is located.) Attached to the plant is a beautifully designed showroom/souvenir stop and a museum about the history of the company. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the architecture of the museum was truly unique and I enjoyed seeing all the old cars. Certainly worth a visit if you need to break up all the beer drinking you're doing.

 




Prague, Czech Republic:

Gotta love beer tastings in Czech Republic, home of Pilzen

          Best Experience: Honestly, Prague was exciting for me because I finally got to meet up with my best childhood friend, Courtney (you can check out her blog here). But besides being able to go on a childhood dream trip with my best friend, we also got to try actual absinthe! The mildly psychoactive kind! The art of serving and pouring a sipping glass of absinthe is really quite lovely and always worth a try.

          Worst Experience: In some ways, I feel like I didn't really experience Prague. We primarily wandered the historical old town and castle hill, which was pretty full of tourists. I would like to have seen more of the city, but we didn't have time.
          Strangest Church: Just outside of Prague is a small town called Kutna Hora. There, you will find the Sedlec Bone Church where 400,000 sets of bones from plague and war were crafted into religious pieces of art in the 14th century. I've never seen anything like it.

Yes. these are all real bones

Vienna, Austria:

Vienna is an expert at fine living! Here's the famous Sacher Tort

          Best Experience: Because we were in Vienna, of course we had to go to the opera! It just seemed like the ideal thing to do! We stood in line for standing tickets, and after paying 3 euro, walked into one of the most lavish performing halls I've ever seen. It was worth paying just to get in! I felt very classy, even though we did have to stand for the whole opera. Next time maybe we'll get real seats.

We saw Rigelotto

          Worst Experience: Overall, Vienna did seem a bit old a stuffy. It didn't have the young creative vibe found in many of the other cities we visited. While I loved learning the history of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, it's not exactly a hip place to visit.
          Most Ornate Palace: During our final day in Vienna, we went to the summer palace of the last hereditary rulers of Austria.Schonbrunn Palace is an 18th century masterpiece of ornate filigree and opulent design. I could not believe how much gilding I saw EVERYWHERE. And the gardens were massive beyond belief! It perfectly demonstrated the power Vienna held over much of Europe for so long. Plus, you know, hedge mazes are way too much fun.

HEDGE MAZE!

Budapest, Hungary:

On Castle Hill

          Best Experience: Ok, I've really really tried but I can't narrow my days in Budapest down into one top experience. The best I can do is cut it down to 2 experiences. The first was the Hungarian wine festival going on in the castle grounds. That's right, I got to try delicious, cheap wines while wandering around the rebuilt castle overlooking the pest side of the city. It was just a magical experience! And I discovered a few new wines (particularly aszu) that I will be hunting for in America. My second top experience was exploring the ruin pubs/bars. Basically, they take old abandoned buildings, fill them with eclectic art, add a bar and open shop! The first one we went to had over 30 rooms with 3 different dance floors across the 3 stories! It was massive and funky and unlike anything I've ever seen. The others we visited were cool too, but this one was by far the best.

Ruin Pub called Instant

          Worst Experience: Budapest was probably the most interesting city we visited, but it wasn't exactly easy to leave. We were somewhat close to being caught in the border closing due to the Syrian immigration crisis. We had to go to the Keleti train station at 6:45am to purchase tickets to Krakow (you couldn't get them online). We actually ended up walking through the tent city that had been erected by the immigrants. We found out later that Hungary closed the border with Austria temporarily, and Germany closed the border with Austria for a bit. Clearly, we were smart to get out when we could.

Instant

          Most Relaxing Experience: Budapest is built along a natural fault line such that there are tons of hot springs peppering the city. These springs have been built upon to create natural hot baths where tourists and locals alike go to relax and unwind. Courtney and I decided to go to the oldest of them, Rudas baths. It was build by the Turks over 500 years ago and little seems to have changed since then. We went for a night bath when it opened at 9pm and we stayed out well past midnight, just enjoying a good soak. I've never felt so utterly at peace.

I might have gone to the wine festival more than once....

Krakow, Poland:

The Krakow Palace

          Best Experience: You would think with several weeks of walking around ancient cities, I would get tired of the Old Town portions of the cities. Not so! At least, definitely not in Krakow! Here is a city that survived the bombings of WW2 relatively unscathed. The old town was still in the same condition as it was so long ago. Granted, it's not all perfectly historically accurate. When the moat surrounding the old town started to fall apart, they turned it into a circular park called the planty to provide extra green space to their citizens. My favorite part of the old town was the St. Mary's Bascilia. I can honestly say I have never seen a more beautiful church. The sky blue painted ceiling and golden ribs gave way to vibrant stained glass and ornately carved biblical figures. The amount of time and energy it must have taken to complete astounds me.

I saw so many churches, but this was by far my favorite

          Worst Experience: I could have eaten even more pierogis than I did, and that's the biggest complaint I can muster. I ate traditional Polish food at least once every day and I always felt like I could eat even more. Thank goodness my wonderful boyfriend got me a pierogi cookbook so I can continue my addiction at home.

          Most Moving Experience: I initially didn't want to go to Auschwitz, but I'm so thankful that I did. It was the most emotionally moving experience of the entire trip. Just walking the barracks and hearing the tour guide talk about the every day cruelties and killings was so hard. I teared up more than once. And I don't think I actually understood the scope of the camps until I saw their enormity for myself. Hearing Auschwitz-Birkeneau described is nothing like going yourself. I'm so glad I did take a day trip to see this painful yet vital part of history.

Auschwitz-Birkeneau

Auschwitz Mother Camp

Warsaw, Poland:

That's right, it's the childhood home of Marie Curie

          Best Experience: Beccause of some changes in our travel schedule, we only got to see Warsaw for one full day. I just didn't realize how much I wanted to see until it was too late. So really, I feel like I can't make a lot of judgements about Warsaw. I will say that I really enjoyed seeing "The Battle of Grunwald" by Jan Matejko. He was a famous Polish painter who was interested in depicting scenes from Poland's past (not always completely accurately) to rally the nationalist spirit. his work becames especially meaningful during the partition of Poland and during the invasion of Poland by Germany during WW2. I had read a lot about his work, so it was wonderful to actually see it in person.
          Worst Experience: Wouldn't you know it? On our last day before the trip came to a close, someone stole Courtney's film camera and laptop computer from her locked locker. Trust me, this is the worst possible way to end a trip. She had done everything right to keep her stuff safe, and still someone broke in and took her computer. We spent our last hours in Poland trying to file a report with the police and figure out what else we could do. It was just so frustrating that we couldn't do anything about it.
          Most Unexpected: I don't know why, but I didn't think Warsaw would feel so much like Berlin. They are both cities that were hit extremely hard during WW2, and both of them were rebuilt under strict Soviet watch. I think that changed something in the character of these cities. Once Russia pulled out of the Eastern Block, both cities seem to have grown in a similar manner. If I had the time, I bet I would have found a similar vibrant street art/alternative youth culture in Warsaw. I suppose I'll have to go back and test that theory sometime soon!

The truly massive Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko

Short Update

I know I'm in the habit of having long breaks between posts and I'm trying to break that habit. So while this is a short post, I just wanted to make sure I'm keeping friends and family abreast of my life.

My first day outfit was an EEG dress and neuron jewelry

Speaking of which, I can now officially claim to be a graduate student! Yesterday was my first day at Northwestern University as a first year student. It still really hasn't hit me that I'm actually on my way to earning a PhD within the next 5 years. Sure that's quite a long time, but I couldn't be more thrilled to be on this journey.

Only a day into school and she's anxious to be an over-worked grad student? Yeah, I'm weird that way. I also prefer more structure to my schedule so I'm hoping to settle into a more full routine while still keeping some "me time." That's not to say I don't experience any anxiety. I know I've only just begun, but I'm chomping at the bit to have something to work on. I'm a bit of a work-a-holic and not having a current project makes me feel too lazy for comfort. I'm sure you're shaking your head.

I will do my best to post more often and will hopefully have some interesting fodder in the form of lectures and articles I will soon be devouring.

PhD- Here I come!

Just the lovely gals I traveled the SW with.

To be honest, I've had several ideas of new posts I should write. I still want to spend some time discussing my senior thesis! The reason none of these ideas have come to fruition is because I have been constantly traveling for the entirety of my spring semester. I had three graduate school weekend visits with Northwestern, WashU in St. Louis, and University of Arizona. I also took a week-long cross country adventure over spring break with some of the best people I know. All this, plus my constant focus on my thesis, hasn't left me with much time or creative juices.

That being said, I absolutely knew I needed to post that I have finally made my grad school decision. Drum roll please! *brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

This fall I will be joining Ken Paller's lab at Northwestern University! I cannot tell you how tough a decision it was with such great programs to choose from, but after lots of time spent on a spreadsheet and obeying my gut feeling I knew it was the right place for me to be. I'll be continuing my passion for sleep research and perhaps exploring some new paradigms I've never worked with before. The Paller lab also works with EEG and fMRI which means I can continue to develop my experience and comprehension of imaging technologies.

Evanston, IL here I come!

Sure, it's going to be an interesting transition from Texas heat to Chicago winters but I know I'm ready for a change of pace. I'm looking forward to the grand 6-year adventure towards my PhD and officially becoming 'Dr. Witkowski.' Just watch, I'm going to become the Neil DeGrasse Tyson of cognitive neuroscience!

Post Undergraduate Plans

Yipes, this is embarrassing. I haven't posted at all this semester and I was so certain that I'd finally have the time to get back to this! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that senior year turned out harder/busier than I would have guessed. It's my final year as an undergraduate student at the University of Texas which means all of my time is focused on graduate applications and my senior thesis.

While I'd love to go on and on about my senior thesis project (I think it's pretty sweet!), I'd like to just talk a bit about the process for applying to graduate schools. It went something like this for me:

1. Generalized stress
2. Look at the national ratings for cognitive psychology programs
3. Panic
4. List programs that seem to be in my field of interest (sleep, memory, cognition)
5. Look at faculty at those programs/find potential advisors
6. Sign up and take the GRE
7. Panic about results
8. Make list of schools/advisors to apply to
9. Order official transcripts from UT
10. Email potential advisors with my CV
11. Write personal statement
12. Send statement to a friend, rewrite, send to grad student, rewrite, send to PI, rewrite
13. Stress out that my writing is unintelligible
14. Fill out online applications for selected universities
15. Generalized panic

Obviously, there was a lot of stress/panic involved with my personal experience. It's both humbling and inspiring to apply: humbling because you're reminded of how much more you could always be doing but inspiring because you realize how much you've accomplished already.

I'm so glad to be done with the stress associated with applications. Now I just have to play the waiting game to find out where I will have the opportunity to interview at. Surprisingly, I have already heard back from Northwestern University and will be interviewing with their department in February.

Hope to let you know how it goes then and happy holidays!

Short Conclusion

On the bus for our last night on the town!

To be honest, I've been putting off writing this post. Mostly just because I'm so sad that my New York experience is over. Here I am, sitting on my couch at home, just wishing I was still exploring that massive city and enjoying weather that isn't 102 degrees every day. But all good things must come to an end, and my summer at Albert Einstein is now over.







Of course, I have so many wonderful memories of the people I met and the things I did. You can fit a surprising amount of exploration into 2 months worth of weekends in Manhattan.

More friends!

But now that the poster session is over and my research there is complete, it's time to move on to my future challenges. I have my final year at the University of Texas to look forward to! I'll be working on my senior research thesis, joining the junior fellows honors group, and researching further into graduate schools to apply to. It's all very exciting stuff in my opinion.

Still, I will miss everyone at Einstein and I hope we find a way to meet up again!

Pushing and cutting science, all at the same time

I've noticed an underlying dichotomy through my research experience this summer. It's a paradoxical state that is brought up every week during our faculty lecture dinners. Every Monday, we have one of the Einstein faculty give us a short presentation on their work and sometimes their lives in science. The talks have ranged from fascinating to yawn-inducing, but one small issue remains a constant thorn in the back of my mind- there just isn't much money devoted to research anymore.

Maybe I should go into finance instead? One
problem.... I don't really like math for the sake
of math.....

If you have any experience in research, you may have heard the dreaded word 'sequestration' thrown around. The basic facts are that the US government is mandating that NIH (National Institutes of Health) cut all programs by 5%. That may not seem like a lot, but check the impacts that this will make on all research, particularly medical. All around the nation, newly minted PhDs are struggling to find positions of any sort in academia. Well-established labs are cutting back on personnel or sometimes even disbanding altogether. In an age when we have the technology to approach some of the most difficult scientific problems, we simply wont put the money into completing the necessary research. I kid you not, one of our weekly presenters nearly broke down and cried when he started to discuss the tremendous impact the sequestration and other economic changes are having on basic laboratory science.

This is all very depressing and dissuading for people like me and the others at this program, but you may be wondering how this amounts to a paradox. The paradox is that grade schools and undergraduate programs are constantly pushing for students to go into the sciences. There are countless programs driven at getting women, underrepresented minorities, and everyone else into some sort of science career. Scholarships, awards, and specialty programs are all being driven to get the next generation of scientists out there. A next generation that has almost no financial support when they complete their years of rigorous schooling/training.

Fellow SURP students out for dinner in Little Italy in the Bronx.

Why are we pushing science so hard, if there will be no career at the end of all this hard work? Scientists in training spend years learning techniques, reading difficult technical papers, and foregoing many social experiences in order to stay in and study for those requisite top grades. But at the end of this long arduous path is... nothing. Or not much, at least. Because of cut funding, programs have become highly selective and end up not taking many bright, hardworking students simply because they cannot afford it. So much hard work for a rapidly shrinking payoff. IT DRIVES ME NUTS!

I'll just wash away my depression at the current
state of affairs away with delicious independently
brewed beer! ...Just kidding, that's what alcoholics
do. I drink to celebrate!

Ok, all funding cuts to education tend to get me pretty annoyed but this one in particular is affecting my future. A future that is approaching very quickly as I will be graduating next spring. If there's no funding in science, how can we expect my graduating class to actually want to stay in their research fields? I'm still at a loss for how the next few years of my life will progress. I LOVE neuroscience research, but I'm not the top student at my university and I don't know how competitive I'll be for graduate programs.

I'd like to wrap this post up with a hopeful note saying "I'm sure to persevere" but the truth is, I don't know what awaits me.

Summer: A time for self-reflection

A shot of downtown Manhattan from the World Trade Center (40th floor).

So it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Things have been chugging along quite nicely in the lab and I feel like my research experience has helped me to re-evaluate my current career trajectory. As my mom can attest, I spent about the first 2 weeks here freaking out about what exactly I want to do with my life. I've always made the assumption that I would go on to a PhD program, work as a postdoc, and eventually become a research professor. But truth is, life is never so easily mapped out. I've had multiple occasions here at Einstein where I realized that there are a plethora of places I could end up and still be happy.

Our visit to the WTC was thanks to a panel the SURP program took us to, regarding MD/PhD programs.

The trick is knowing what I love to do. I love to learn new things (hence why research excites me so much). I love teaching things I've picked up to others (thus, my preference for gaining some kind of position as an instructor). I love neuroscience (and I plan on never leaving the field!).

During my time in NYC, I've certainly been trying lots of
new, delicious foods! Here is a picture from Max Brenners
(a chocolate restaurant) where I had a S'mores Sunday.

But these three passions can all be met by a variety of jobs and opportunities. That's what this summer is teaching me to see- that I have so many possibilities ahead of me and I should evaluate all of them before making any assumptions about the right path for me.

All this being said, I still am DEFINITELY getting a PhD. I don't think I could be happy without becoming an expert in my field and having all the experiences associated with doing your own research experiment. So, I will continue to peruse graduate school applications during my lunch break and enjoy every opportunity here in the 'Empire State.'

The Manhattan skyline from rooftop...

...before the grand fireworks from the Hudson River.

And let's not forget, I've gotten to see some old friends from ATX!

PS- My old roomie, Kelsey, met the folks from Radiolab to which I must admit I am eternally jealous. If they ever need a correspondent in Texas, I'll gladly work for them for free! Just saying....

And to make my 4th of July weekend complete, a
wonderful trip out to Bear Mountain for lovely hiking!