Well, I passed my final examination yesterday. I tried to approach the presentation like it was any other talk, but that didn't work for me. I was nervous for 40 minutes - up until the Q&A. I came into my own then, and had actually a lot of fun; this extended into the hour long closed meeting with my committee. Perhaps I'm so used to the Seattle tradition of asking questions throughout the talk, I got intimidated by the audience not interrupting me! Reliable sources indicate that I carried on a couple of conversations with myself (three actually) during the presentation, which evidently elicited laughs from the audience. And then there's the complement that goes something like, "I actually understood (insert fraction greater than 1/2) of your talk!" I suppose that bodes well for my interests in communicating science to the public.
I can't say that I feel much different this morning than 24 hours ago. I'll try to put the PhD to good use in the next two weeks before I start the third year of medical school, as I finalize two papers and one resubmission. Then I will have to put the PhD in my back pocket for a couple of years while I assume the mantle of humble & helpful medical student.
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4 comments:
way to go, man!!
Congratulations Dr. Robey.
and you never "put your Ph.D in your back pocket". This is merely the certification of an essentially unchangeable transition in who you are and how you think.
Congrats! It still seems rather incredible to me that multiple years' worth of work can be squeezed into such a short presentation (not like I'm anywhere close to it at this point...)
Thanks, Everyone.
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