Highlighting “Through the Porthole” (featuring JPBO student Lei Ma)

The MIT-WHOI Joint Program PhD students have launched a newsletter called Through the Porthole.  They state, “our goal is to make information about graduate school in the geosciences, and the JP in particular, more accessible to undergraduates with diverse educational backgrounds. We provide practical advice about how you can make grad school in the geosciences happen.”

To date two issues have been published, and in the second JPBO student Lei Ma is featured in the “Student Spotlight.”

In the article, Lei provides valuable advice to undergraduates considering careers in ocean sciences. She highlights her own training as a microbiologists and emphasized that students don’t necessarily need to come to graduate school with previous experience in oceanography or marine science. She encouraged undergraduates to take advantage of opportunities to gain formal training in data analysis and statistical analysis. From the article I also learned that Lei is proficient in Tae Kwon Do.

I applaud the JP students on this effort, and I encourage everyone to check out this newsletter. Please share the link with undergraduate students and faculty at undergraduate-serving institutions.