After Commencement, Graduate Students Continue to Learn

The week after commencement, while many students were returning home or beginning summer jobs, a number of graduate students and postdocs were focused on writing and preparing for careers in academia through two signature Graduate School professional development programs – Camp Completion and Academic Packways.

Camp Completion, which was held May 13-17, is an intensive week-long retreat designed to help advanced graduate students make significant progress toward the completion of their theses, capstone projects or dissertations. Camp Completion provided participants with five days of dedicated writing time, opportunities to receive feedback from faculty researchers and to engage in short activities geared toward managing the dissertation project, developing productive writing habits and strategies and communicating research to diverse audiences.

Facilitated by Shannon Madden, director of graduate writing, the program allowed nearly 30 participants to achieve personal writing goals and meet deadlines. Graduate students met in Talley Student Union from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily with one main goal: writing. Camp Completion participants cited as most beneficial the variety of workshops provided, one-with-one consultations from expert writers and researchers and the social element of writing with others that encouraged an atmosphere of support, inspiration and encouragement.

A number of faculty scholars-in-residence helped support Camp Completion participants. To learn more about the scholars, visit the Camp Completion website. The next Camp Completion will be help in December.

Academic Packways, a two-day intensive academic career preparation event held on May 15-16, at the Wilson College of Textiles, focused on the job search process for graduate students and postdocs seeking faculty positions in higher education. Approximately 30 late-stage graduate students and postdocs interacted with 49 faculty and staff partners plus members of the Graduate School Professional Development team, to learn more about the academic job search and how to transition successfully into a faculty role.

The event, facilitated by Vanessa Doriott Anderson, director of teaching and communication programs, focused on topics such as career mapping, institution types; CVs and cover letters; search committee considerations; managing time for research, teaching and service; and mentoring and advising.

The event, facilitated by Vanessa Doriott Anderson, director of teaching and communication programs, focused on topics such as career mapping; institution types; CVs and cover letters; search committee considerations; managing time for research, teaching and service; and mentoring and advising. It included presentations, panels, informal discussions, and working sessions in which participants received feedback on their application documents from faculty, staff and peers.

Ph.D. student Ashish Kapoor summarized Academic Packways in a LinkedIn post. Visit the Academic Packways website to learn more about the program.