After 6 years of hard work, it finally happened! I have completed all of the requirements for my doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Words almost cannot describe the weight that I feel has lifted off of my shoulders.
It was a long journey to get to this point. At times, it absolutely sucked. Other times, I felt amazing for the things I was able to do. I thoroughly lived my life in grad school: the good, the bad, and the inbetween. Since it has been a while since I posted, I wanted to highlight some of the adventures and acknowledge those who made this journey possible.
Adventures
Grad school was quite the adventure. Here is a brief snapshot of some of the things I did these past six years.
Shared knowledge: I published 4 peer-reviewed papers (a 5th one was just submitted), 14 conference papers, and gave 13 presentations. Check out my Google Scholar profile here.
Spent time in the dark: I studied magneto-electric scattering using an ultrafast laser. Yes, I spent a lot of time in the dark trying to find weak signals. Here is a selfie of me in my lab.
Traveled for fun: I traveled to India, Japan, South Korea, and Costa Rica with my husband. It was phenomenal getting to experience new cultures.
Illuminated the dark: I spread the joy of the International Year of Light in 2015 by forming the Michigan Light Project. Together, 20+ volunteers hosted 16 events throughout the year and impacted over 1500 community members. We also published our work at SPIE Optics & Photonics 2016.
Collaborated across cultures: I facilitated 2 two-week leadership camps for 40+ female engineering students in Liberia, Africa with the Society of Women Engineers. Check out this blog for more stories: https://gradsweatum.wordpress.com/category/liberia/
Puzzled: I created an Escape Room with the College of Engineering in 2016 for new graduate students. We created a puzzle set that was able to be done in 30 classrooms simultaneously for less than $30 per room. I also planned 2 additional rooms with my friend Andrew at his house. These rooms were one day events during the summer.
Involved on campus: I was very involved on campus. My main two organizations were the Optics Society at the University of Michigan and the Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE). When I started grad school, I told myself that I could only join two organizations. However, those two organizations multiplied into countless opportunities to learn, to serve, and to live life well during grad school.
Acknowledgements
A PhD is not the result of one researcher, working alone in a basement for years, only to emerge at the end with a fully formed dissertation. Rather, it takes a village to support the researcher along the way. I am grateful for my village. I am forever thankful to:
- My husband Patrick, for being my rock.
- My family – especially my parents, Mike and Cheri; my brother, Stephen; and my in-laws, Bill and Sally – for believing in me, even if you don’t always know what I do.
- God, for sustaining my faith throughout this trial.
- My friends at University of Michigan – especially Laura and Heather – for motivating me to keep going, and making the journey worthwhile.
- My hometown friends – Allie, Mary, Natalie, Brooke, and Andrew – for being there before, during and after.
- My research colleagues – Alex, Will, Mike, Ayan, Hengky, Manish, Theresa, Laura, Long, Krishnandu, Ayesheshim, and Tuan – for all of the big and small things in the lab.
- My research adviser and thesis committee, for giving me feedback over the years and enabling this dissertation to be the best possible version.
- The EECS support staff – especially Car, Amy, Greg, and Jose – for pushing me, helping me, and making ERB and EECS better places to be.
- The College of Engineering staff – especially Kim, Tiffany, Shira, and Andria – for giving me countless opportunities to give back to the UM community.
- Other UM offices – especially Women in Science and Engineering, Center for the Education of Women, Counseling and Psychological Services – for being there when I needed it.
- The Science, Technology, and Public Policy certificate program, for teaching me how to be a responsible scientist, and citizen, in society.
- My extracurricular organizations – especially Society of Women Engineers and the Optics Society at UM – for giving me the opportunity to be more than just a researcher.
- Michigan Technological University – especially the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department – for providing me with the foundation to thrive in grad school. Go Huskies!
Finally, thank you to all the adults who took time to encourage my curiosity. Thank you to Rochester Community Schools – especially Mr. Mattick, my 6th grade Math teacher, who let me skip to 7th grade math; Mr. Thuma, my AP Physics teacher, who encouraged me to make my career in Science; and the Hart Middle School librarian who let me check out my own books. Thank you to everyone who believed in me.
For all of those reading this who are struggling to get through school or any other task, I believe in you! Just keep going, if you are almost done. Ask for help when you need it. It never ceases to amaze me what people are willing to do to support the dreams of others.
You can do it!
Onward!
So, what’s next? I will be joining Boston Consulting Group in their Detroit office in May. I will be helping businesses and other organizations improve their performance by solving complex problems, in industries as diverse as auto, retail, consumer products, telecomm, pharma, and finance. I am excited to solve interesting problems with a great team of people.
Oh, and Go Blue!
Elizabeth F. C. Dreyer 