So, as the title of this post implies, I am in the process of turning over a new leaf. I know, I know, the plant biologist makes a lame plant pun... bear with me.
At the end of the week, I will start my new job at Harvard Forest, where I'll be studying the effects of climate change on plant populations- particularly ragweed, which causes allergies in humans. I'm excited to start a new project, and I was fortunate enough to meet my new P.I., Kristina Stinson, at the Ecological Society of America's annual meetings last week, which were conveniently held in Portland. She's awesome! I think she's going to be a great mentor, and it will be exciting to get involved with a project that has a lot of momentum going already. Apparently, I will be the 27th person to contribute to this project... how crazy is that? I also met a few of my soon-to-be fellow researchers at the conference, and they seem like great people to be working alongside of for the next few months. The whole job-finding process was challenging (as other recent grads likely know well) and filled with lots of courteous rejection letters and, even in seemingly promising options, lots of bureaucracy and delays. In the end, I got extremely lucky to be able to find a spot on Kristina's research team, since the status of her projects, her current funding availability, and my plans to return to Costa Rica in January left her seeking assistance for almost exactly the amount of time I am available in between my current job ending and heading back to the tropics to work on my own research next year.
As exciting as this is, my new job also marks the official end of my time at Reed. While for many college students graduation is "the end," I've spent my summer working on an additional experiment related to the research I did for my thesis; save for the dramatically decreased stress levels, conspicuously absent student body on campus, and regular doses of sunshine in Portland, my daily life has really not been terribly different than it was during my senior year at Reed. Now, when I leave work tomorrow, I am leaving the Reed biology department for good! It's pretty weird to acknowledge how final this is: I will no longer be contributing to my adviser's research, and, essentially, whatever I have for him by the end of the week is all I will ever be able to say about my current project. Since I got involved in the project that became my thesis so early on in my time at Reed, this will be a huge change for me. Granted, I haven't been working on it constantly for the past 2.5 years, but every time I left in the past I've had the promise of continuing to work whenever I returned. Leaving the lab for good will be weird. Also, obviously, starting to work at Harvard Forest will mean moving to Massachusetts, i.e., leaving Portland indefinitely. I have loved living here so much that I am slightly apprehensive about moving back to the East Coast, and while many of my friends have already left Portland for the summer and/or beyond, leaving this time feels like saying goodbye for real.
So, understandably, I am feeling kind of down about leaving. However, the past week of packing, finishing up lab work, cleaning out my office and house, and saying goodbyes has given me a lot of time to think about how lucky I was during my time at Reed. After all, the only reason it's hard to go is because I have had some amazing experiences here! Sure, I've had my stressful moments (read: years), but I feel like I've grown a lot from being pushed to my personal academic limits. And, despite demanding classes, jam-packed scheduling of school and several jobs, and seemingly impossible-to-please professors, one of the greatest privileges that I've gotten as a Reedie is freedom. Underneath all of the structure, at the end of the day, the faculty here give us so much freedom to pursue our interests, work independently, and learn from our own mistakes. Having worked elsewhere, too, I can say that this flexibility is not something that every undergraduate student is privy to... nor is the trust and respect that are necessary in order for professors to feel comfortable giving us such freedom. Reedies routinely accomplish amazing things both in the classroom and beyond, and I truly believe that a big part of that starts here, either during thesis or prior independent projects where we are given the incredible license to do something important, something that we care about. And, because we are told that we can, we do. I am so grateful to have been able to spend four years with a faculty and staff that both encourages us to develop our passions and gives us the guidance, resources, and freedom necessary to pursue them... not to mention a student body of amazing people who rise to and exceed the expectations that come with these privileges.
OK, so I guess that will suffice as my final love letter to Reed. I'll be honest and say that there were days when I hated it and days when I wished I went to another school, but in the end I truly feel that Reed is an amazing school in an amazing city filled with amazing people. I am also practical enough to realize that the confidence and joy that I feel while here is a good sign that it's time to try something new and push myself outside of my comfort zone. But now, as I leave, I just feel the need to acknowledge how much the past four years have meant to me. I will carry so much of what I've learned here with me for the rest of my life... to Harvard Forest, to Costa Rica, and beyond!
