Physics PhD - Finishing My First Semester

Hello Everyone!

As we approach the second half of this Spring semester, I wanted to recap how my first semester as a PhD student went!

Classes

There have never been a more challenging set of classes as Fall semester’s classes were. Even with the background of graduate level Physics classes, the professors for the classes we had were very rigorous with the material and the amount of work we had to do. Weekly homework assignments that would take days to complete! Even while we all tried to collaborate! It was insane. Exams were tough as well. But I am happy to say that I passed all of my classes!

Events

There is an incredible amount of events available for students to attend. For the first year PhD students in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, we are all brought together as a Cohort to partake in The Dornsife PhD Academy workshops that help us with the PhD process. In these workshops we have touched the topics of how to give an Elevator Pitch and choosing your committee members. During this time, we are expected to talk to students of other disciplines. I’ve had the chance to talk to PhD students in the fields of Biology, Psychology, Math, etc.

Another place on campus that I started visiting is the First Generation Plus Success Center (FG+SC)! Apart from being an amazing place to study, have lunch, and relax, FG+SC hosts a lot of events that span a wide array of topics. The first one I went to was a First Gen in STEM panel that included students and a professor from USC. I continue to visit the center and am also trying to get involved.

My first Physics Catalina Island retreat with the department! The retreat took place at the USC Wrigley Institute at the Catalina Island. This was a weekend long event where Physics PhD students of all years were invited to attend. Us first year students were highly encouraged to go because the event was filled with research presentations from students further in their program. The retreat is meant for us to learn about the research being done in the department and socialize with students and professors.

Another event organized by another Physics student was our first Physics vs Caltech soccer game. This was open to anyone in the physics department, undergraduate and graduate students. This was one of the most fun thing we were able to do! We were successful in having a lot of students participate. About the outcome of the game, we won’t talk about…. But it was a lot of fun!

This semester is also filled with many events! I will make sure to post again soon, as the PhD Decision process is coming up. At USC, we meet the prospective students this week, and I am excited to talk to them! I remember when I was visiting schools last year.

And like always, thank you for taking the time to read through my post!

Luis Davila