Posted on: December 18, 2012 Posted by: Svetlana Zenkin Comments: 0

Finals are almost finished, and we have a month-long break ahead of us. As my ERG cohort’s first semester draws to a close, it’s time to reminisce a little bit. I feel like a lot has happened since September, but also have perfectly vivid memories of our first meeting in Barrows Hall as a class.

It’s been a challenging, yet rewarding few months. A big part of the challenge was that I had worked for six years between undergrad and grad school, so it took a while to re-adapt to student life. I was extremely nervous about doing well at the beginning of the semester. I even cried two days before one of my homework problem sets was due because I was afraid I wouldn’t complete it perfectly and on time. This was for an assignment that was maybe worth two percent of my grade! Thankfully, I felt progressively better.

As far as the good parts, here are a few of my highlights:

  • Working as a graduate student researcher (GSR) or graduate student instructor (GSI). These are positions that you would find after getting your acceptance, and involve working anywhere from 10-20 hours per week during the school year. If you work at least 10 hours per week, your tuition and most fees are covered through a fee remission and you receive a stipend. (GSI info; GSR info). Students are often on the lookout for emails from different departments and professors for open GSI/GSR positions and typically apply for the openings before the start of a semester. More details on GSR/GSI appointments can be found here.

  • Fellowships or grants. These are generally more geared towards PhD students “who are domestic U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents, or qualified ‘dreamers’ through CA AB540”, although there are some opportunities for Master’s and international students. UC Berkeley has some fellowships for entering students that you can apply for as you apply to ERG.

Next semester promises to be busier, but hopefully also very rewarding. In addition to classes, I will be a Teaching Assistant for John Harte’s “Quantitative Aspects of Environmental Programs” class. Also, I will be editing the blog and newsletter for the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative (BERC) as their VP Communications.

For now, I am looking forward to having an enjoyable and productive break. It’ll be nice to read for pleasure, visit friends in San Francisco, go on more hikes and cook some of the recipes I’ve bookmarked during the Fall! Oh, and put some serious time into researching and applying for summer internships.

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Svetlana Zenkin
MS Student at Energy and Resources Group | + posts