What Advice Would You Give To Your First Year Self? Pt II

Dr. Korie Grayson

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University

IG: @teamkorie

My first year in graduate school was somewhat of a culture shock for me. Moving from Atlanta, the 4th largest black-majority city, and attending Norfolk State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), I became comfortable and used to seeing faces that looked like me. The moment I stepped off the plane and landed in Ithaca, NY, I realized I was in a different world. It was mid-March when I came to visit after I received a phone call from the Director of Graduate Studies that I got into the Biomedical Engineering PhD program at Cornell. There was at least 4 inches of snow covering the ground as we ventured our way in the minivan to the campus hotel. I’ve seen snow before but I had never seen snow this high off the ground and in mid-March! Once I got to the main meeting room and met the potential people in my cohort, I realized I was a long way away from the comfort and familiarity of “Down South.” I was in a whole different world even more different from the industry I just came from. At that time, I worked for a biomedical device company manufacturing a dialysis graft for CryoLife, Inc. in Midtown Atlanta. Even the industry sector could not prepare me for the roller-coaster of a journey that was ahead of me.

Because I took some time off and worked, I was older than my official cohort and did not have much in common or to share with them. I kept to myself a lot like I always had and kind of stumbled through my PhD alone in the very beginning. I had a partner at the time but he could not relate and oftentimes did not understand my feelings during this journey. My thoughts and energy were often consumed by our relationship and not with learning and researching like it should have been. I was not focused and not prepared to be in graduate school. I could not have been more focused in what I wanted to do but yet all over the place at the same time. I also did not know myself and was not getting to know myself. I wish I would have spent more time with myself and got to have known me better. I wish I would have listened to myself and what I wanted instead of someone telling me. I wish I would payed more attention to me and would have been just a little more selfish. I wish I would have only been in a relationship with myself and just worked on me. Eventually, I did just that. So, what advice would I give to my first-year self? I would have told my naïve and consumed self to stop, take some time, and just focus on yourself. Learn what you want along with what exactly you want to do in research. Trust your instincts and help guide yourself to the path that God created for you. Pray more, meditate more, and exercise more so your stress and anxiety are reduced and your mind is clearer. All in all, this journey is about you.