The University of Rochester

Oh boy, where do I start!

Over New Years, while I was staying with my good friend Allegra in Pennsylvania, I got an e-mail from Dr. Judi Smetana at the University of Rochester.  I had applied to work with her in graduate school; she studies both parenting and moral development...perfect!  Anyway, the email was to invite me to come and interview with her in february.  Of course I was ecstatic.  Allegra and I did a little dance around her kitchen, I called my mom, and I responded to Dr. Smetana "Yes of course!"

Fast forward about a month.  I flew to Rochester for their interview weekend.  It was one of the most nerve wracking, exhausting weekends of my life!  I flew in on Friday after noon; my host, a very nice lady named Wendy, picked me up from the airport. Then that evening the current graduate students hosted a dinner for the applicants.  I got to talk to quite a few people, which was great.  They are all doing such interesting things!

Saturday was interview day.  I got to talk to more graduate students; they asked what my interest were and why I thought Rochester and I would would be a good fit for each other.  Then I talked to Dr. Smetana for an hour...I was totally nervous but held it together.  She is super nice and very fun to talk to.  I interviewed with some more faculty as well.  Saturday night there was an informal dinner with all the faculty, grad students, and applicants.  It was cool to get to talk to Dr. Smetana and the other students in a less formal setting.  Then I flew home on Sunday.  It was a quick, but informative trip.

They said it would be 2-3 weeks before they made any decisions so I came home to wait.  Then on Thursday this week I got an email from Dr. Smetana saying she would like to talk to me and asking when would be a good time to call.  I kind of freaked out a little.  It hadn't even been a week yet!  But she called on Friday and said they would like to offer me a place in their graduate program!  Again, I had a little dance party around my house.  I am so excited about this.  It's a lot to think about, but it is a great opportunity and not one I think I can pass up.  Rochester is an amazing school and Dr. Smetana will be a great mentor!

It is so nice to a) be able to talk intelligently with people who are interested in the same nerdy things that I am interested in and b) to have all the work I have done for the past 4 years validated in a tangible way.  I'm going to get paid to go to school for pete's sake!  Yay!