Being an Involved Grad Student

A.K.A How to being involved AND score free meals

I'm a fairly involved graduate student. Rachel is as well. The benefits are numerous, but some of the top reasons we like to be involved include contributing to our respective departments and universities, building our C.V., access to amazing workshops/events/etc, in addition to always knowing where the free food on campus is located! Below are some of our top ways for you to get involved within your own programs!

Eco-Life Hacks: Homemade Greek Yogurt

OK, you probably should be a little weary of
someone who eats as many beets as I do. Fair 'nuff.

Nearly two months into my life in State College and I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that I am already branded as the hippie chick. What do you expect from a biologist turned statistician?! I can't help it though; if people bring up podcasts and DIY kitchen adventures, I'm going to be all up in that conversation. If you join me for dinner you'll notice that my kitchen is fully set up while my dining table is a moving box. Priorities. If my apartment building doesn't have a compost bin but there is one outside of my multivariable calculus course, then I am going to carry my compost to campus in a airtight container and dispose of it responsibly. If you invite me to watch the US/Ghana game, I’m definitely going to bring a healthy snack of veggies and hummus. And if you mention homemade yogurt, then I will get super excited and discuss my love for plain, Greek yogurt made by yours truly. Them’s just the facts.

Gardening with a Toddler

Editor’s Note: Today will be the first guest blog in STS history!  Both Meridith and I had guest bloggers on our individual blogs, and we love the additional insights added voices give to our topics of discussion.  Those who follow us on Instagram or Tumblr know that I have started a vegetable garden this year, and I have been having a blast.  I’m constantly amazed at how I, a person who presumably knows quite a bit about plants, keep learning new things through this process.  I was discussing this with my friend Christal recently, and we got to talking about how she had started a container garden with her 2-year-old son.  Adorable and educational?  I had to know more, so I asked her to write a post about the experience of gardening with her son, and what she thinks he has gotten out of the activity.  Here is what she shared!  

This kid is totally a STS kindred spirit!

Eco-Life Hacks: Making Homemade Stock

There are a few things that I truly love in this world:  science (obvi), my family/friends/cat, NAPS(!), and finding new life hacks that are both thrifty and eco-friendly.  Don’t get me wrong, I like things that are thrifty or eco-friendly, but when you get the two together…  These are usually little things or habit changes that I can pretty easily sneak into my normal routine.  They make me feel positive about my choices and they make it a little easier for me to buy obnoxious (read: more expensive) organic kale.  Win, win!  Right?

Allow me to play Devil’s advocate for a moment.  Our environmental problems are big, huge even.  The impacts of our personal choices are generally small, potentially imperceptible.  I get this.  People who tell you otherwise are not being straight with you.  So, why do I still make these small lifestyle changes in the face of all the facts?  There are a couple of reasons.  First, I think that over my lifetime my small choices can add up, and maybe that still won’t make a huge difference, but at least I can say I did my best.  Second, I truly and strongly feel a cultural shift toward these choices in the population at large can make a big difference in the years to come.  As we have seen so many times over the decades, a cultural revolution is the most effective way to make lasting change.

Cool Stuff Sunday 4

What a long week/month. I'm reluctant to believe that April is already here. I was able to relax a bit yesterday and celebrate the Bluegrass Brawl basketball game with friends. I'm not much of a sports fan, but I am a fan of my home state and wanted to share some of the Kentucky enthusiasm. Even though I didn't post a Stuff Your Face Saturday, I did spend the morning creating an array of homemade snacks! I even brewed my own sweet tea! I'm not sure how long tea bags last, but this could be a real sweet treat on Mars!

After you check out all of the Cool Stuff for today, check out the newly added 'About Me' section. I also figured out how to add slideshows of the two Hubble's Hidden Treasures Flickr accounts to the blog sidebar. Employed some good ol' fashioned stubbornness and trial & error with that accomplishment!

Also, this week announcements will be made about who advances to the next round in the application process. 700 applicants applied to participate in the Hawaiian Mars Analog Mission and Food Study, and the review committee has spent the last month narrowing that pool to a mere 30 people! 

I'm pregnant. No, I'm dropping out of grad school. No, I'm not linking you to a story about the history of April Fools

http://hint.fm/wind/ Can't get a preview for this, but its worth checking out!

Found Apollo 11 Rockets

Pretty Underwater Volcano Eruption

A great Nat Geo clip about a dam removal. Just think about how much that area will change!

Decommissioning the Space Shuttles 

Stuff Your Face Saturday

When you are a grad student, weekends take on a whole new meaning. Especially when you are nearing your Defense Date. Weekends become those enjoyable 2 days where you can be in the lab all day with no one around to distract you. (I really think I might be the only person in my building right now.) Also, you get to park anywhere!

Working on campus is certainly not the most ideal way to spend your weekends, but this time of year is crunch time. You may think you have plenty of time to finish everything, however something will always come up. Other students are defending, taking their comprehensive exams, and celebrating their victories and you'll want to take time out of your day to attend or celebrate with them! Certainly others be doing the same when it's your turn at bat.

Once you are sucked into research and thesis writing to this degree, it becomes harder and harder to find time to feed yourself. You may find yourself drawn to fast food and junk food, because of its convenience. But, if you make time in the mornings and evenings to prepare snacks and meals in advance, you may still have enjoyable, healthy food to keep you going.

Here are a few tips and ideas that have helped me:

Prepare Ahead of Time
I can be very bad about just wanting to lay down and relax after the day is over. However, I also want to lay in bed until the last possible moment the next morning. Something has got to give. How hard is it to whip together tomorrow's lunch though? A sandwich. A salad. Some quinoa and whatever delicious things are around the kitchen.


Snacks

Red Pepper Hummus

Try bringing some of these with you in some reusable containers:

• cut up veggies and hummus 
• chips and salsa
• peanut butter and apples
• crackers and spread
• hardboiled eggs

Leftovers
Never underestimate the power of leftovers. Getting full while dining out? Don't keep eating just because its there, ask for a box or some foil. BAM - tomorrow's lunch. Also, don't be afraid to make a recipe larger than you'll need for that meal. You can store it in meal sized containers that are easy to grab for lunch on campus.

Curry

Crock Pot Breakfasts/Dinners
Slow cookers can be your best friend. All you have to do is throw a bunch of ingredients in and when you get home dinner is waiting for you. I've enjoyed making vegetarian chilies, pasta sauces, curry, and beans in my crock pot. I also have a list of recipes waiting to be tried. Including an apple pie oatmeal.

Questions of The Day:
What do you do for meals during your busiest days?
Will you try any of the tips here? Tell me how it goes!

Manifest (Your) Destiny

Graduation years are a turbulent time. At first, all you can focus on is that big light at the end of the tunnel. Finish writing my thesis. Pass my classes. Defend. Graduate. Success. This is my life for the next 2.5 months. Eventually, you'll be able to look past the light and see all of the options that lie ahead of you. Darn. Options means choices. We've reached that point in our life once more when everyone only asks you that one dreaded question: What are you going to do after you graduate? Guess I have to start thinking about this again. As if I had that much control over my destiny.

*      *      *

Another early morning in South Africa. The sun is struggling to rise, as are we. Today is Kruger Day.  After days of hard work and animal relocating with Andre (the Indiana Jones of Africa), a day spent marveling at beauties of the wild is just what we need. 

Our caravan creeps slowly towards the gates. Other students get out to stretch their legs. I try to get a few extra minutes of sleep. We'll be spending the day driving through the park. You don't get out. Inside the vans, with our cameras, snacks, and guides, we're in our temporary habitats. Everything else belongs to the animals.

Dr. Stokes, our experienced leader and resident Mammalogy guru, has been through the parks many times. Each experience provided a different glimpse into the vast diversity the park has to offer. To make things even more interesting, he issues a contest. The student to correctly predict the first mammal we encounter in the park gets a Magnum bar. And this was before Magnum bars were available in the US!

I must have that ice cream bar.


What mammal will we see first? I focus very hard on this question. I think about all of the different possibilities. The others will guess more obvious choices. Impala due to sheer numbers. Giraffes, due to height visibility. I close my eyes and open myself to the answer. 


Rhinoceros.

Greater Kudo Capture

A bold move on my part as often this member of the Big 5 is not often seen at all. My fellow competitors mock my choice, but I gather all the positive energy I can muster and focus on my goal. 


We see not one but a group of White Rhinos just inside the park. 


Sweet, sweet, Belgian chocolaty victory.

*      *      *

I once manifested multiple Rhinoceroses, how difficult can this future thing be? I'm still a few weeks away from knowing whether my plans for after graduate school may involve four months in a Mars analog habitat. I need to be focused on finishing processing samples and writing my thesis, but I can't help but try and peek out past the end of this tunnel at my future. 

Stuff your Face Saturday

It's been nearly a week since I started this blog and I have yet to talk about food! I've been cooking it. I've been thinking about it. And I've certainly been eating it!

I've been meaning to give my crock pot some love, and make some (not)refried beans, so might as well take everyone along for the ride.

This is an excellent recipe that could be converted to meet the requirements of space travel. Dry beans can be stored for 10-30 years while all of the other ingredients can be stored as dry spices. Imagine some smooth, spicy beans after an 8 month trip to Mars!

Ingredients (minus jalapeno) 

I am only making a half serving compared tot he website recipe. The first time I didn't leave enough room in the crock pot to let the beans expand! Rookie mistake. The beans take about 4-5 hours on HIGH.

Remember to leave room for the beans to expand!

Come back later to see the final product!
EDIT: Here it is, folks! I've already realized that I foolishly did not think to add that extra New Mexico kick! Next time I will be adding Hatch's famous green chilis! I wonder how long they'd last in space....

Finished product. Now if you'll excuse me, I must stuff my face!