A doctorate degree is the highest traditional academic degree. Earning a Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D. for short, can be a long endeavor, taking anywhere from three to 10 years of study. Doctoral candidates also are expected to conduct research and publish as part of their degree programs.

Doctoral degrees are among the most difficult to earn, with around a third of students dropping out of Ph.D. programs in the 10th year, per a 2008 study from the Council of Graduate Schools.

One of the challenges facing many graduate students is to find a project that will have practical application. Even more difficult, is to find a project that will help people on days that are painful and frightening. Jeffrey Brookins, a Master of Science graduate in Materials Science and Engineering from Michigan Tech University, is the rare student with a project that does both. Brookins worked on developing improved surgical clips for use during laparoscopic surgeries – minimally invasive procedures designed to minimize external scarring, often within the abdominal or pelvic cavities. Current clips are reported to cause nausea, digestive complications, and localized pain. Jeffrey’s clips, by contrast, are bioabsorbable and disappear harmlessly after they serve their function as a mechanical lock during the natural wound healing process.

Jeffrey’s journey began at Michigan Tech in 2008. He was a curious student, but didn’t feel in control of his education. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. So, in 2010 he decided to leave Michigan Tech and join the United States Marines Corps. Brookins ended as a Sergeant in the Marines, serving from 2010 to 2013 and spending two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

While in Afghanistan, Brookins was struck by how valuable medical knowledge was to military operations. It was here that his intellectual curiosity met his passion. After leaving the military, Brookins returned to Michigan Tech with the intention of pursuing a medical career. He was struck, however, by research being done on stents by a Materials Science professor, Dr. Jaroslaw Drelich. After joining Professor Drelich’s research group, Surface Innovations, Brookins worked on a variety of projects and stated that Prof. Drelich “had one of the greatest impacts on me and inspired me to never be content with mediocre work; ask the tough questions and make the hard work worth it.”

Drelich was also a mentor who supported Brookins’ work and encouraged him to stay on for his master’s degree at Michigan Tech, after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 2017. During this time, Drelich learned that Brookins was more than just a good student. “Jeff is very good cook” he joked in an interview with us, “and his Polish cuisine dishes could make his grandmother proud.”

After receiving his M.S. in 2018, Brookins was accepted to a doctoral program in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Though he has just started his program, Brookins continues to be interested in metallurgy and is focusing his research on building the next generation of high strength metals. These advanced materials could find a broad use from the energy to the structural sectors. Brookins credits his military experience with helping him find his passion and succeed as a graduate student. 

To learn more about Jeffrey and his work, visit the Michigan Tech website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

While some graduate students who are active duty military want to build skills for future civilian careers, others, like Philip Steenstra, are getting graduate degrees to become more skilled military personnel. Steenstra, an Army Captain and a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science at Washington State University, hopes to use his degree to secure a position in the US Corps of Engineers after graduation. Though he would like to join the Corps of Engineers, he knows the new skills he has acquired at WSU will be useful in many fields. “I will be returning to the active Army after completing my degree here,” he says, “but I plan to use my degree as best I can regardless of the assignment I have.”

Steenstra has been interested in going to graduate school in environmental science for as long as he can remember. As a graduate student, Steenstra has studied the emerging threat of tungsten to Washington’s waterways. He argued in a recent project proposal that the surplus of tungsten in Washington’s water supply was a threat to public health and ecology. This work builds on prior studies conducted by the Environmental Projection Agency (EPA) in 2008 and in California in 2014. Steenstra has enjoyed the work noting that, “Throughout my entire education I’ve enjoyed learning about environmental processes and I’ve very much enjoyed continuing to build on that knowledge” at WSU.

Steenstra believes his military background has improved his performance as a graduate student. “The military has significantly helped me prepare for graduate school as myriad skills I learned or honed while in the Army carry over into graduate life” he said in a conversation with CGS. “In particular, skills concerning organization, time management, and writing have been instrumental in my success thus far.” Beyond academic skills, Steenstra’s time in the Army has helped him keep graduate school in perspective. The Army gave him “plenty of practice in maintaining a healthy work-life balance [which] has made this time enjoyable.”

Steenstra looks forward to continuing to build his military career after finishing graduate school. “I will have plenty of time to get myself into an assignment where I can use my degree as I plan to stay in the Army until at least retirement (20 years of service) even though I’m only at ten years right now.” Once he has secured his military retirement, he wants to work for a state or federal regulatory agency in order to continue to use his science background to serve his fellow citizens. Moving into a regulatory agency will mean “I can continue making a positive impact on our country” he concludes.

To learn more about Philip’s work, visit the Washington State University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Philip Steenstra

UC San Francisco graduate student and military veteran Raul Torres says he enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 18, primarily because he saw it as a way to be financially independent during college and graduate debt-free. It was 2003, the beginning of the Iraq War, but, he notes with a half-laugh, that was only supposed to last a couple of years. 

He was deployed to Bagdad almost immediately upon graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2008.  His squad was in charge of convoy security, ensuring that needed supplies and personnel got from Bagdad, the main point of entrance to the country, to various military outposts.  He counts himself lucky, as his unit didn’t encounter any roadside bombs or heavy fire, although other units doing this same kind of work often did. “You knew what could happen, so the anxiety never really went away, but you did fall into a routine and learned what to expect.” During his service, Raul was also involved in emergency response stateside, notably during Hurricane Rita in 2005 in his home state of Texas.

Having finished his service commitment in 2009, Torres enjoyed a new sense of freedom. “Having a disciplined, structured way of doing things works well in the military and in science,” but, he says, “in the military you are always forced not to ask why, not to question the way things are done. It’s necessary because of the heavy consequences that can result if you question orders or the mission, but it’s also antithetical to scientific thinking, which requires you to constantly ask why or how you might do something differently.”

As an undergrad with a dual anthropology and biology major, Torres had done field work in ethnography and archeology, but not research in a biology lab. So, after Iraq, with the ultimate goal of getting a PhD, he applied to post-bac programs and landed at the University of Chicago, where he did research in human genetics. With this experience under his belt, he was accepted into the Biomedical Sciences doctoral program at UCSF.

In Ryan Hernandez’s Lab at UCSF, Raul has been studying the complex interaction of linked selection and demography on generating patterns of diversity across the genome and looking at how such patterns contribute to variation within and between different human populations.

A life-long interest in both evolutionary history and social history imbues Raul’s ambitions as a researcher. “In revealing population-specific patterns generated through evolutionary forces, it may become possible to better leverage genetic data to benefit specific populations, for example, and decrease health disparities in those that are understudied. More than anything, I want to have a positive impact on marginalized communities,” he says.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

LaVoya Woods-Dionne first learned about doctoral degrees when she was 6 years old. Since that time, pursuing her own post-secondary education has been a major goal.

Her prior career as a Data Analyst for the U.S. Air Force prepared her for success. “Military life relies on a robust system of accountability both professionally and personally,” she says. The cardinal value of accountability – buttressed by the Air Force’s commitment to integrity – meant that Woods-Dionne knew and trusted her support system. “When I was serving, it was comforting knowing that there was always an airman or community member close by should I need support.”

When Woods-Dionne arrived at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 to pursue a master’s degree in social work, she hoped to find a network available to support her unique needs and goals.

Fortunately, at UNC she found a community of veterans, active duty military, and reserves – as well as faculty and staff – who understood her concerns and supported her as she adjusted to graduate student life. “Before moving here [to Chapel Hill] I wish I’d known there was a military student community I could tap into,” she recalls. “It may have eased some of my anxiety about being an adult learner in a more traditional education setting.” Furthermore, that community encouraged her that her military background was an asset. Integrity, one of the Air Force’s core values, was also paramount in graduate school. The habits and discipline Woods-Dionne learned in the military was another advantage. “The pace and intensity of military work overseas equipped me to handle the simultaneous demands of coursework, research assistantships, and internships,” she notes.

Woods-Dionne plans to use her master’s degree in social work to help raise awareness of the effects of trauma and oppression and promote healing. In 2017-18 she worked as an intern at the Refugee Wellness Initiative on issues related to the mental health of recently arrived refugees. She plans to become a licensed clinical social worker and pursue her doctoral degree two years after receiving her master’s degree.

Despite her eagerness to graduate and help others, Woods-Dionne will miss the campus that helped her transition into civilian life. The Queens, N.Y., native has grown accustomed to the more relaxed pace of the South, noting that it has helped her preserve a healthier balance between her schoolwork and social life. “Chapel Hill and its proximity to Raleigh and Durham give me the slower life of Southern porches and sweet tea while also feeding the academic in me that thrives in rigorous study.” 

To learn more about LaVoya’s work, visit the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Ilich Mejía

We at CGS want to thank and honor the men and women who have served in the American armed forces. As part of our tribute, we will be posting a series of GradImpact stories featuring graduate student veterans in celebration of Veterans Day. Thank you for sharing your stories with us and thank you for your service.

For Country and Family: Tyler Mobra (University of Oklahoma - Tulsa)

For many, graduate study holds the promise of a better life and more secure financial future for the student and their family. Veterans share this interest in financial security when charting a career path after their military service ends. Tyler Mobra, a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma - Tulsa, is one such student veteran. After serving as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mobra was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for heroic or meritorious service.

Radical Experimentation and Emotional Leadership: Wayne Johnson (Cornell University)

Many graduate students learn the importance of experimentation to good research through coursework, mentorship, and controlled lab environments. Wayne Johnson, a doctoral student in management at Cornell University, took a completely different path. As the leader of an Army counter-bomb unit in Eastern Afghanistan, Johnson had seen how bomb defusal and removal strategies designed for troops serving in Iraq were failing in Afghanistan. “After a month of heavy losses, I realized radical experimentation was needed,” he said. Johnson found that the new methods worked well and he was reassigned to the Army Research lab to teach what he had learned to others.

Living Her Life for Others: Meghan Lowry (University of Oklahoma - Tulsa)

“As veterans, we’re trained to fight, but we’re not really trained to come home,” said Megan Lowry, a master’s student in social work at The University of Oklahoma—Tulsa. Lowry knows this first-hand and is determined to make a difference

Mission Driven: William LaRose (Cornell University)

A commitment to public service is a value shared by almost all veterans and active duty servicemembers. This commitment is also shared by many graduate students who hope to use their education for the betterment of their communities. It was the commitment to public service that spurred William LaRose, a master’s candidate in public administration at Cornell University, to pursue a graduate degree after serving four years in the US Army. “I knew I wanted to continue to service after the Army,” LaRose said, “and that I wanted to do so at a premier university and program.”

Turning Trauma into Purpose: James Hentig (University of Notre Dame)

As a doctoral candidate in biology at the University of Notre Dame, James “Jayme” Hentig researches Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and regenerative therapies. In 2017, he received a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement an innovative TBI model design for pre-clinical trials. His project requires managing budgets, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams at other universities, and overseeing junior scientists, all skills he honed while in the U.S. military.

Providing a Beacon of Hope for Veterans and First Responders: Nick Harnish (University of Wisconsin - Madison)

Nick Harnish is an applied master’s student in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison with an emphasis in community organizing, human development, nonprofit management, and public humanities. He’s also a veteran of the U.S. Army, a former first responder, a volunteer with Wisconsin Hero Outdoors, and a Public Humanities Scholar with the UW—Madison Center for Humanities.

Environmental Science and Public Service: Philip Steenstra (Washington State University)

While some graduate students who are active duty military want to build skills for future civilian careers, others, like Philip Steenstra, are getting graduate degrees to become more skilled military personnel. Steenstra, an Army Captain and a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science at Washington State University, hopes to use his degree to secure a position in the US Corps of Engineers after graduation.

Veteran Continues Service by Studying Human Genetics: Raul Torres (University of California - San Francisco)

UC San Francisco graduate student and military veteran Raul Torres says he enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 18, primarily because he saw it as a way to be financially independent during college and graduate debt-free. It was 2003, the beginning of the Iraq War, but, he notes with a half-laugh, that was only supposed to last a couple of years.

Finding Community and Helping Society: LaVoya Woods-Dionne (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

LaVoya Woods-Dionne first learned about doctoral degrees when she was 6 years old. Since that time, pursuing her own post-secondary education has been a major goal. Her prior career as a Data Analyst for the U.S. Air Force prepared her for success. “Military life relies on a robust system of accountability both professionally and personally,” she says. The cardinal value of accountability – buttressed by the Air Force’s commitment to integrity – meant that Woods-Dionne knew and trusted her support system. “When I was serving, it was comforting knowing that there was always an airman or community member close by should I need support.”

Mission First, People Always: Allene Osborn (Eastern Washington University)

Allene Osborn has been struck by the continuity between her military service and her master’s program. She describes graduate school as feeling “like a natural extension of my military service.” As in the military, her program stresses the relationship between accomplishing tasks and taking care of the whole person. This continuity has helped her to see her own life holistically, stitching together her military and civilian lives into a single set of values. 

Leader of the Pack: Lawrence Minnis (George Mason University)

"Leadership is the byproduct of our interaction during operations," Lawrence Minnis boldly declares at the top of his LinkedIn profile. For Minnis, a second year PhD student in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at George Mason University, leadership is primal, a fundamental part of human social interaction. 

Managing the Competing Demands of Military Duty and Research in Pusuit of a PhD: Joshua Pearlman (University of Maryland)

Graduate students often find time management, self-discipline, and managing stress challenging while pursuing their degrees. Joshua Pearlman, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, is well acquainted with these challenges. After 26 years of Navy service and having earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he’s now a doctoral candidate working on his dissertation and serving in the Navy Reserve.

Allene Osborn doesn’t want to make the story about her. “I have been incredibly blessed to have family and friends who have supported me along the way and I would never be able to do all the things I do without my children and husband sacrificing their time for me as well,” she says about her transition from military service to graduate school. “I am the one in grad school but really it is because of their support and love that I ever made it this far.”

Self-sacrifice and care for others has defined Osborn’s character since she was a teenager. At age 18 she enlisted in the United States Air Force. She was honorably discharged from active service in 2007, but continued to serve in the Air Force reserves, the Washington Air National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant and serving as a Geospatial Targeting Intelligence Instructor.

When she left military service, however, Osborn struggled to find purpose. “When I chose to separate after completing my service obligation, I was at a point where I needed to find a purpose. Our son was very ill and I was battling physical injuries on top of depression and anxiety. I had been good at my job but felt lost and scared and didn't know how to get past the dark place I was in.” She decided to take a chance on education and, with the support of the GI Bill and Veterans Affairs VocRehab Program, began a bachelor’s degree in Children’s Studies at Eastern Washington University in 2012.

While enrolled at EWU, Osborn was able to work with organizations that educated and mentored individuals to become advocates for themselves, their families, and their communities. She saw in these organizations the same values she cherished during her military service: “integrity, service, and excellence.” After finishing her bachelor’s in 2017, and with her passion rekindled, she decided that “earning a Master’s in Social Work seemed to be the next logical step.”

Osborn has been struck by the continuity between her military service and her master’s program. She describes graduate school as feeling “like a natural extension of my military service.” As in the military, her program stresses the relationship between accomplishing tasks and taking care of the whole person. This continuity has helped her to see her own life holistically, stitching together her military and civilian lives into a single set of values.

Osborn hopes to use her master’s degree in social work to give back to military or veteran families, particularly those families with children. She hopes that her work will help counter stigmas surrounding mental health issues for veterans and active duty military. She remembers how scary her own mental health issue was and “how empowering it felt to confront it.” She also saw how important access to mental health services were for her children. No longer lost, she is now a passionate advocate. “Outreach events where we help individuals and families get connected to resources, advocacy for individuals, families and services, engagement in policy work – I love it all” she says enthusiastically.

At the root of her enthusiasm is an appreciation and love for others. She lauds the sacrifices her family has made for her to go to graduate school. This love extends to her military family, too. “I believe in our military veterans and their families and I can’t wait to support them as a thank you for all they have sacrificed.”

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Allene Osborn

"Leadership is the byproduct of our interaction during operations," Lawrence Minnis boldly declares at the top of his LinkedIn profile. For Minnis, a second year PhD student in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience at George Mason University, leadership is primal, a fundamental part of human social interaction. 

Minnis' interest in leadership began during his military service in the Army as a military intelligence officer in 2004. He was stationed in Germany and served in Iraq before a neurological illness ended his active duty deployment. During his 18-month rehabilitation, Minnis participated in the Dog Tags training program in his home town of Washington, DC, which taught him dog training techniques, animal behavior, and animal care & management. He was struck by the commonalities between human and animal social organization. In particular, he was impressed by the way leadership in both species was grounded in the fundamentals of interaction. Minnis began to wonder if it was possible to uncover laws that governed leadership and if those laws were generalizable beyond human beings. 

At George Mason University, Minnis has expanded on his initial interest in how humans and dogs share certain social dynamics into the realms of leadership studies, human-canine interaction, and how humans perceive canine behavior. He has learned new research techniques, like neuroimaging, that will allow him to better understand the physiological process that are expressed in social relations. Minnis wants to use his knowledge to give back to the humane animal adoption community that supported him during his rehabilitation. He is currently working on a study about the decision-making process underpinning animal adoption with the hope of better promoting the practice of humane animal adoption techniques. He wants to apply the findings from his research at shelters in the Washington Metro area. To learn more about Lawrence and his work visit the George Mason University website. 

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: George Mason University

The drop is something that hasn't been seen since 2004: the first year that the Council of Graduate Schools first began collecting data on international application and first-time enrollment rates in United States graduate programs. According to the American Institute of Physics, which compiled all available data from the International Graduate Admissions Survey administered by the Council of Graduate schools, international applications and first-time enrollment rates rose every year from 2006 through 2016, inclusive, with a tiny decline (~1%) from 2016 to 2017.

Graduate students often find time management, self-discipline, and managing stress challenging while pursuing their degrees. Joshua Pearlman, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, is well acquainted with these challenges. After 26 years of Navy service and having earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he’s now a doctoral candidate working on his dissertation and serving in the Navy Reserve. Pearlman has been interested in the field of energy since childhood: “I saw (and still see) research as an important part of finding workable solutions to a number of problems we face, including those in the area of energy, where my own project work is in. For me, [getting a PhD] is an opportunity to contribute to that effort in a meaningful way.”

Pearlman’s doctoral research is in fuel cell system modeling, specifically the way a water-gas shift/membrane reactor behaves. “Working along with other components, the purpose of the water-gas shift/membrane reactor is to supply a stream of hydrogen, free of contaminants, to the fuel cells in certain systems where the original fuel source is a hydrocarbon.” Research into fuel cell systems shows tremendous promise for improving the efficiency of energy conversion. Pearlman’s specific work has potential use in applications including remote portable power generation.

In addition to everything else on his plate, Pearlman is determined to help others balancing similar commitments by sharing his own experiences. “I don’t know anyone with a typical path. I just found that I had a passion for what I was doing, both in my research and in the military. I’ve learned a lot about myself, not only from my two deployment experiences, but from each of my other military assignments, and from my graduate program. And I hope that sharing these experiences will help others in comparable situations,” concludes Pearlman. To learn more about Joshua and his work, visit the University of Maryland website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Joshua Pearlman