October 10, 2021
Hello, my name is Courtney Westlund, and this blog is going to follow my journey to graduate school and how I got here. Before the spring semester of my sophomore year at UW Eau Claire, my long term plans for my education only involved graduating with my bachelor’s degree in chemistry. I had no plans to go graduate school and absolutely no idea what the McNair Program was. This all changed because of one professor who introduced me to a different kind of future for myself.
Connecting with Dr. Dahl and The McNair Program
The first time I truly considered graduate school and obtaining a PhD was when one of my organic chemistry professors, Dr. Dahl, approached me. I have had this professor for two classes in the past, and he thought I would be a good fit to join his organic synthesis research team. He highly recommended for me to join the McNair program after I mentioned to him that I didn’t plan on going to graduate school. He was able to give me an overview of the program and the benefits of joining. I was hesitant about joining for various reasons. Nobody I know in my family or in my hometown had graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree. This also means graduate school was practically unheard of within this group of people. I am from a tiny town in northern Wisconsin and my family has never been well-off. This is the reason I never thought graduate school was possible. I had nobody to help me with the process and it just seemed too big for me.
What Changed My Mind
The support of one of my favorite professors and the possibility of an entire program designed to get students ready for graduate school is what changed my mind about further education. To this day, I still have no idea about the graduate school application process. I am very thankful I was able to join this kind of group. I have gained multiple mentors and a group of students going through similar struggles. My cohort in the McNair program has become a very supportive group within these first couple weeks. They have made these major changes in my life a little more manageable.
My McNair Cohort - Cohort 23
Thinking of the Future
Since joining the program, I have not had any regrets about my decision about McNair or going to graduate school. My research professor has agreed to become my mentor and we have had multiple meetings to discuss McNair and graduate school. Despite the support from others, I am still a bit overwhelmed about the graduate school application process. Thankfully, I know I can rely on this program and others around me for guidance and assistance.
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