en: What’s life like as a Scripps student?
AC: Work work work. Kidding. But it’s work in a fun way! I get to pour my energy into doing something I love (science!) and no day is exactly the same. I'm an early riser so a typical day starts with coffee, taking care of my dog, packing lunch, snarfing down some breakfast then heading off to school (via bike or car) to either the office or my first class of the day. I try to get in to campus around 8 a.m. and start by checking emails. I do not have any lab experiments running yet, so my days are filled with managing the FjordPhyto Citizen Science Project, taking and studying for classes, reading scientific literature, and dreaming up ways I can process and analyze my data collected from the field season in Antarctica. I try to go home to take care of the dog again by 5 p.m., and to exercise, unless there is an event at school or something I need to take care of in the lab. Having the graduate student life is very different from when I was a working technician. Because I experienced the working world for ten years prior to coming to graduate school I was used to having a more balanced life, to be honest. Working an 8-to-5 job allowed me time to have a vibrant social life and many, many hobbies. Being in graduate school, life is totally devoted to studying and research during the day and in the evening, which is fun in its own right, but maintaining work/life balance, eating healthy, and keeping up on my hobbies is a bit trickier.
en: What’s the most exciting thing about your work?
AC: I get to do science in a place I love and I get to share that work with a huge public audience (travelers).
en: Are there any role models or mentors who have helped you along the way?
AC: So many! Many science women from my past work experiences (Kristina Bavik, Carol Thompson, Jennifer Dougherty, my old boss Monica Orellana), my current advisor Maria Vernet, and mentors I have not met in person but feel mentored by through their writing including E.O. Wilson, Sally Ride, Jessica Meir, Hope Jahren, Marie Forleo, and more. Basically, I admire people who go for their dreams and live a full life and that can be anyone from a colleague, someone younger than me, or someone more advanced in their career.
en: What are some of the challenges you face as a student?
AC: The biggest one: Not feeling guilty when I take a break. Now that the responsibility for progress is on me, I feel really guilty having what a non-graduate student would see as a more healthy work-life balance. Another is finding the time to get everything that needs to be done, or learned, completed. It’s never ending. You have to draw the line somewhere to stay sane! And one more: finances. I'm 35 now, going to be near 40 by the time I finish (gulp). Being on a student salary is tricky for anyone, and especially as someone who once had a taste of the full-employment salaried life for ten years! But despite the challenges, I'm really having a lot of fun during this time of my life and approach it all as an adventure.
en: What are your plans?
AC: To continue to do awesome world class science, continue learning, continue research, continue sharing that work through teaching or informal education. Continue going into the field. Continue networking and collaborating. Continue being scientifically creative!
You can find Allison Cusick on Instagram and Facebook @womanscientist and on Twitter @woman_scientist. You can find FjordPhyto on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @fjordphyto.
- Shawndiz Hazegh
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