Corvallis

Last week I took a trip to Oregon State to look at the College of Forestry.  It was an awesome trip.  I met with 17 people--professors and grad students--from the two departements (FES and FERM) I might be interesting in and went to five classes.  I learned so much and confirmed several things I already knew or suspected.  Multiple faculty seemed to appreciate the value of my educational background, which was affirming.

Before I went I don't think I fully understood the value of making a visit.  So many things I did or opportunities that arose would never have happened just by contacting people by email or phone.  Additionally, now many faculty have seen my face and will remember their interactions with me when I contact them again or they see my application.  It was more than worth the time and money. After I finish the Minnesota application and before the professor makes his decision, I'm definitely going to visit St. Paul.  This gives me a little more incentive to get the application done soon.

One factor that made the trip very smooth and comfortable was staying with my friend Elizabeth.  She and her housemates were willing to let me stay there all week and were very hospitable.  They had a small room with a bed for me and even had a bike to borrow, which made getting around incredibly quick and easy.  I'm so grateful to them for their help.  I even got to make cupcakes with them, which was really fun and a good way to unwind.

As successful as the trip was, it wore me out.  Meeting that many new people and putting out that much energy took its toll.  I'm feeling better today after resting up this weekend though.  Now I have several follow up emails to write.

Opportunites

I recently spoke to a professor at the University of Minnesota about a Research Assistantship in his lab. The RA position would be working on variable retention harvesting in red pine forests in northern Minnesota.  This could be a near perfect fit for me.  I first became interested in retention harvesting (sometimes called variable retention or structural retention harvesting) when I heard about the Demonstration of Ecosystem Management Options (DEMO) study that has been going on in Oregon and Washington for several years now.  I think it is an excellent ecosystem-based forestry approach, which can be tailored to many types of forests and different management objectives.  I think this professor's lab has the kind of applied ecology approach that I am hoping to build a career on.  My ultimate goal is to work in the space where science and land management meet.

A few days after speaking to the professor on the phone I saw a job posting with his lab for a Field Tech position for the fall in Michigan.  This job would start in just a few weeks.  I'm hoping to hear back next week about an interview.  If the job worked out and the RA position came through I could soon be headed to the Mid-West for a few years.  Sometimes things are just a matter of timing, and I hope my time is now.

If I don't get the Field Tech job, my plan is to move to Seattle before the middle of next month.  I'm looking for work there now and as soon as something comes through (barring the Michigan job), I'll be on my way.  My intention in moving to Seattle is to connect with the forest ecology community at UW.  I'd like to get to know professors and students, possibly take a class or two, and work for a professor/lab either paid or volunteer (ideally the former, probably the latter).  Having spoken to the professor in Minnesota, even if that opportunity doesn't come through, I'm much more confident in my chances of finding a Master's program.  It affirms what I've been telling myself all along, that I am qualified and do have the right skills and experience to succeed in an ecology program.

Things are definitely coming along.  2012 is turning out to be a good year in moving forward with my science career!

Interesting Article and Map of Canopy Height

My friend emailed this link to me. It discusses a fascinating way of measuring the forest canopy height for the whole globe. The maximum height displayed on the map is 40 meters (about 130 feet), which doesn't reflect the outstanding height of the redwood forests and the eucalyptus forests in Australia and New Zealand, although the article does mention the eucalyptus forests. Researchers would like to use the data to help estimate the biomass of the forests.

Boycott Article

An article about a boycott of publishing company Elsevier.

Statement of Purpose

I took down my statement of purpose because I don't want it permanently on the web, but if you are interested in seeing it let me know.

Number Two

The online part of my Montana application is done! I have to mail two transcripts and my statement, and then I'll be done with that one.

I have felt my energy and motivation waning a bit this week. I think the deadline for OSU was really driving me for those two weeks. Now things don't feel as pressing, and I don't feel as compelled to get things done on a daily basis. On the other hand, I just went through a couple intense weeks of work, so a bit slower pace probably isn't a bad thing.

One of my next steps is to contact professors, something that definitely intimidates me and brings up all kind of insecurities. I have a reasonably good email draft that I've sent to other professors to work from, which is good. But I'm still nervous about putting myself out there (fear of rejection and all that crap). I have one more professor at OSU I haven't contacted before that I want to email. I should follow up with the other two as well. One I spoke to in 2010 and the other I exchanged a few emails with last year. I haven't found anymore Montana faculty who really jump out at me as an excellent fit to my interests. There are several who might be a pretty good match, though. I haven't explored the Wisconsin list yet, but I will definitely consider Dr. Mladenoff, one of the PIs on the project where I did my internship.

In other news, I watched an interesting show on OPB about logging in Oregon. It focused on how we are managing the eastside forests (east of the Cascades) and the risks of doing nothing, mainly on public lands where the laws and review process has tied up a lot of potential management. They profiled a few small, private landowners who are doing some pretty interesting things to actively manage their forests. They are having a lot of success reducing risks like fire, disease, and pests and getting good wood production out of their trees. One man summed up his strategy as, "Keep the best and take the rest." I think that's pretty cool. It keeps the strong trees and good genetic stock for future trees. Another landowner was talking about how he manages for multiple species and age classes and keeps structural elements like snags.

One thing the show didn't discuss, that I would have been interested to hear more about, was westside forests in Oregon. The ecology of the two areas is quite different, especially in the area of fire, which was one aspect the show kept highlighting as a reason for more intense management. The fire intervals on the eastside are from 10 to 40 years, whereas on the westside they are in the range of 200 to 500 years. (For those who know their Oregon history, the 4 fires of the Tillamook Burn that all took place in the span of 18 years were an anomaly. If there had only been the first fire, that ecosystem would have been able to progress as the westside forests have for hundreds (maybe thousands) of years, with the surviving trees, lots of snags, the regeneration of Doug-firs and other pioneers, and the continued support of the wildlife that thrived in that area before the fire.) In my opinion, the way we manage westside forests with respect to timber production is a much stickier issue. The retention of healthy, old trees, the effect that logging equipment has on soil health and structure and the health of understory plants, the retention of complex forest structure, protection of habitat for endangered species--it is difficult to take all of these issues into account when also trying to manage for a level of logging that will keep people employed and mills open. It was only an hour long show, though, and they did a good job of covering the issues they did tackle.

Applications and Reading

Lot's of good stuff today.

I'm almost done with the Montana online application. I should look closer at the faculty for more potential advisors. I'm waiting to hear back about some questions, though, so I'll have a few days to do some of that. The only bad thing about waiting is that the electronic requests for letters of rec. don't get sent out until I actually finish the application. The SOP for them is a hard copy, so I'll have to make it visually appealing in terms of spacing and such. I think Wisconsin has an option for a file upload or a copy and paste form. It's so confusing because every school has a different process and every online application is a little different. They all pretty much want the same thing but in different ways. It definitely pays to read the directions very carefully and more than once.

I sent my transcript requests for Wisconsin. I had to request more because I had bad instructions for the OSU application. I sent the materials to OSU yesterday with an unofficial copy of my SJC transcripts because I still haven't received them yet. Once I get them I can send the official ones. It should be fine, though.

I also spent some time on the Wisconsin application and looked around their website some more. I found some great stuff, including a rather thorough document about how to make the most of graduate school. I look forward to reading more of it to give me some perspective on where I'm headed and what I can do along the way. I'm undertaking a graduate degree in order to make a career, after all, and I'll have to actually make it.

I also looked around at publications to see what is easy for me to access and read regularly. I found the ESA's main publications on JSTOR up through 2009. That should be plenty to browse for a while. I also looked around on the ESA website and discovered a few cool things. One is that the 2012 ESA Conference is in Portland! It's in August and I am definitely finding a way to go--to the whole thing, all week. Another is that they have three podcasts I can get on iTunes about various ecology stuff. And the third is that they have an free, online-only journal. More good reading.

Definitely getting some things done.

ONE DONE!

My OSU application is in! All that's left is for them to receive my letters of recommendation and my transcripts. I'm also sending my resume along with my transcripts even though they don't ask for one. It couldn't hurt. YAAAAAYYY!

Coming Along

Things are coming along. I've put together a pretty good resume/CV. I've got some feedback on the SOP and need to do some editing. I'm getting more done on the online applications.

So I called OSU today with some questions about application materials and I'm glad I did because I had some bad information. On the website for the Dept. there is a link to old information. Total suck. So I have it all straightened out now, but I was worried for a minute.

This process is giving me a lot more confidence in my qualifications. I am a good candidate. I'm a good writer as well so I should be confident in the ability of my SOP to show my merits. Peggy and I went over my resume (I'll just call it that) last night and found some things to add. After working on it today, I think it looks pretty strong. I have a consistent history of either working in education or the outdoors. I have my self-employment work. I look like a motivated person. And I don't have any big gaps in employment, even without adding the few crappy jobs. Pretty soon I'll be done with the OSU application and then I won't have a whole lot more to do for the other two besides changing a little of my SOP and doing the online applications. Oh and it turns out that the letters of recommendation for both Montana and Wisconsin are online, which makes things a lot simpler. Here's a shout out to my awesome recommendation writers.

Progress, Progress

Wow. I can't believe that a week ago I wasn't even thinking about applying to school this winter. Now I'm working on applications to OSU, U Montana, and U Wisconsin-Madison. OSU is due on the 15th and Montana and Wisconsin are due at the end of the month.

Since last Friday I've:

• Put together a draft CV
• Contacted people for letters of recommendation
• Ordered transcripts
• Started all three applications online
• Written and revised a draft of my statement of purpose
• Researched possible advisors at OSU
• Asked a couple of friends in grad school to see their CV/resumes and sop's

It's been a whirlwind the last week. Norm has really been the catalyst for all my work. I have been doing the work, though, which feels really good. Really good.

I've been "thinking about grad school" for something like 4 years now and "seriously thinking about grad school" for 2+ years. Finally, I'm doing something about grad school. Earlier today, when I was talking to Frank, I came up with the analogy of jumping in a swimming pool. I've been looking at the pool, and I've stuck my toe in the water a few times, contacting professors and friends about grad school. Now I feel like I've jumped in. I feel that same shock that you feel when you get in the pool, like "damn, it's cold!" I'm still kind of feeling the shock. Part of me is still in last week, but most of me--and, importantly, the part that types and makes phone calls--is in this week and has done some good stuff. We'll see what comes of it. The worst case scenario is that I don't get in and I apply again later. This puts me way ahead of where I was, though.

The best case is that I start school in the fall.

Statement of Porpoise

I'm trying to work on my Statement of Purpose/Letter of Intent/Personal Statement (whatever you would like to call it. I feel a little stalled. Do I really know why I want to get a graduate degree? Do I have the qualifications? I think so. So how do I communicate that?

I'm worried about getting too wrapped up in other people's ideas before I try to sort it out for myself. Last night I just sat and wrote and tried to put down whatever came to me. I don't know if I should just go from what came last night or try a second time from a different angle and see what comes.

**

I just tried writing some ideas and nothing substantial would come. I'm probably tired. I've done quite a bit since Monday. I should probably just get some good rest.