For those of you who aren’t aware, I’m a first-generation college student and I recently completed the requirements for my master’s degree! The degree is a Master of Art in Experimental Psychology.

In our Ph.D program, getting a master’s degree isn’t typically celebrated. It’s seen as something you “pick up along the way” on the journey of earning a doctorate and entering a research career. (Also, a good proportion of our graduate students enter with a master’s degree already, so this isn’t a new milestone for them.)

I, however, have not experienced this milestone before, meaning I’m mentally celebrating! I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: I’m in my dream program, at my dream institution, with an amazing adviser, and residing in my favorite city in the world. I am incredibly grateful and do not take any of this for granted.

For now, I have three years left (minimum) in this program—and I’m looking forward to every single one of them. There is a lot of hard work ahead, but that’s the fun.

Thank you,

-A.Y.