InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
Two decades ago, I moved to a new city that I’d never visited before to start a post-doc fellowship. The work was interesting and the hours fairly regular, at least at first. When I arrived in the city, I wanted to make my walk with God a priority. Read more…
Last fall, I defended my Ph.D. dissertation, and in May I attended my graduation at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. My studies were challenging, especially since I was changing my discipline, from engineering to Science and Technology Studies (STS), which is built around a core of history, sociology, and philosophy.Read more…
It was 1991, during the summer between my first and second years of medical school. I was in the basement of a Christian clinic in Times Square. The clinic provided free medical care for homeless people in New York City. I was filling up a tub with warm soapy water so one of our homeless clients could soak his feet.Read more…
I once had a seminary professor who liked to talk about something he called liminality. The term comes from the Latin word limens, which means “threshold.” Liminal space is a place of transition, of waiting and not knowing.Read more…
As an aspiring psychologist, I was recently in a training session that taught us how to validate clients’ feelings—to show respect for their feelings, display empathy, and exhibit active listening so that they feel heard. While learning how to empathize with the feelings of others, however, I’ve also been reflecting on my own feelings, especially transitioning into my first year in a Master’s program in New York City.Read more…
A few years ago, when I first moved to the University of Michigan as a campus ministry worker with Cru, I was fascinated by the return of the school year. I came from a small college, and the large university setting was mesmerizing. This year, I am not so chipper. Read more…
We’ve gathered some of our most read and appreciated material on navigating graduate school here. If you’re looking for encouragement/grad school survival advice individually or for your campus group, check out these five options.Read more…
I had high expectations for this summer. I was headed for a research internship at a prestigious institution, working in my first-choice lab out of over 100 in the department.Read more…
My transition from being an undergraduate to entering graduate school was ambiguous. I simply did not know when or where I was going. Discerning my vocation was a long, but important process that took about three years that started in my junior year of undergrad.Read more…
How do you know where to go to graduate school? How do you choose your field? Kateri Collins shares her experience. Read more…
Shoot. As I heard the front door open from my basement study, I grew frustrated. I’ve been reading and studying all day and there’s still SO much more to do.Read more…
During preparations for my preliminary exams, the cliché “blessing in disguise” seemed like an accurate description of graduate school. Although I knew that graduate school was a gift from God, at the time, it felt like a big mistake. Read more…
I remember struggling with staying connected during my second year of graduate school.Read more…
I remember well that fall when I started graduate school–the excitement, the anticipation of starting something new. Orientation activities and faculty seminars inviting students to something big, something interesting, something important. Read more…
Since Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, he wants to bring everything into his kingdom—the arts, the sciences and, yes, even the humanities. Read more…
Committing to grad school means time, money and, for most of us, anxiety. An early graying head is a sign of a PhD candidate. Despite the cost, many of us enter into this commitment without much deep reflection on theRead more…
Part Two – Being a Graduate Student When I entered grad school, I entered with a sense of purpose that was in my mind akin to the idea that the Puritans had of vocation or calling. Attending a Catholic university,Read more…
Introduction After several months of connecting on-line, I had the privilege of meeting Michael in Lancaster, PA. What brought him to my neck of the woods? His research on John Williamson Nevin (1803 – 1886). John Williamson Nevin not onlyRead more…
Introduction Thank-you to Dwight Schwartz, Ph.D., for sharing a glimpse of his academic/vocational journey through Candidate for What? A few questions for the reader as we wrap up the series with Part 5 (Click here for Part 1 on Pre-collegiate chemistry, here forRead more…
Introduction Thank-you to Dwight Schwartz, Ph.D., for continuing his Candidate for What? series by sharing a glimpse of his postdoctoral puzzle. Below are a few questions for your consideration as you dive into Part 4 (Click here for Part 1 and here forRead more…
Introduction Thank-you to Dwight Schwartz, Ph.D., for continuing his Candidate for What? series by sharing a glimpse of his undergraduate and graduate school journey. A few questions for you as you dive into Part 2 and 3 (Click here for Part 1): How doRead more…
This is my final post on the Emerging Scholars Blog. Well, my final planned post, anyway. Tom insisted that I leave the door open for guest posts in the future, but I won’t be writing here every Tuesday as I haveRead more…
Every few years, another publication discovers that becoming a tenured professor at a research university is hard work. Most recently, it was Slate, which ran an essay by Rebecca Shuman which, fittingly for an essay about literary study, had twoRead more…
Thank you for making 2012 a great year for the Emerging Scholars Blog! Among our posts published last year, our top 10 most read posts includes a typical mix of advice for graduate school, spiritual formation, and, well, aliens: Nicholas Wolterstorff:Read more…