Blog Archive

These blogs were written by Christine during her PhD journey. Christine is currently no longer writing blog posts but they are archived below for reference.

  • How to become an expert

    How to become an expert

    Ever wondered why sometimes you attend a lecture at university and the instructor seems brilliant but you walk away not learning a thing?  Often times Instructors have lost conscious awareness of 3 elements to becoming an expert and may neglect them from practice. When obtaining a graduate degree, we are working towards becoming a master…

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  • Academia and Parenthood: Work life balance?

    Academia and Parenthood: Work life balance?

    Watch a 30 minute talk from Christine, sharing her experience as a new mom and a 5th year PhD Candidate at Carleton University. In this talk you will find a discussion on academia and parenthood, including barriers, challenges, recent literature, and strategies to manage pursing a life in academia as a parent. As a social…

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  • A love letter communicating boundaries, from a PhD student

    A love letter communicating boundaries, from a PhD student

    Dear loved one, Thank you for continuously inviting me to outings even though I often take a rain check. I wish I could be there more but my PhD is quite demanding. Thank you for asking me what I am studying, even though you have asked me before. I know it’s a lot to wrap…

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  • PhD and Pregnant

    PhD and Pregnant

    As I write this, I am currently 6 months postpartum. I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on my time when I was pregnant and trying to move forward with my PhD. At the time of pregnancy, I wasn’t up for much reflection, it was mostly survival. I struggled with morning sickness for…

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  • 10 ways Motherhood is a lot like a PhD

    10 ways Motherhood is a lot like a PhD

    These past three months as a new mom have been a roller coaster ride to say the least. I’ve been reflecting on the challenges and the joyful moments and I look forward to putting them into a longer post about the newborn stage and completing a PhD. Until I find a moment to write that…

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  • How I Stayed Motivated During Pregnancy

    How I Stayed Motivated During Pregnancy

    A common question I get asked is “how do you stay motivated during pregnancy”? Often new grad school moms are reaching out because they have just become pregnant but are either distracted by pregnancy or too exhausted to work the same amount of hours. I get it. I experienced both. My first trimester (and even…

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