Swedish Newspapers

Where was this when I wrote my thesis?!
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A Note from Abroad

"The question really for all of us is what we do with the opportunities that we create and that others help to create for us." -wise words, via email, from an old professor


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Warmheartedness

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Zou Hoo

"iPads and laptops have replaced satchels and quills, but students still sign honor codes, dress up for football games and vie for coveted spots in secret societies at the university Thomas Jefferson founded in 1819." -description of UVA in Southern Living's list of the best college towns in the South ... (good ole Mizzou also made the list).



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Revolving Research

"Thanks to my solid academic training, today I can write hundreds of words on virtually any topic without possessing a shred of information, which is how I got a good job in journalism." -Dave Barry. It's true -- this time last year I was preparing to defend my thesis; that research experience definitely prepared me for all the behind-the-scenes work I'm doing at Outside.

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Hooray, Columbia!

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Talking with Tom

"I told him he was the best Jefferson statue I’d ever seen..." -part of my first-person essay for Virginia magazine.
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Slow System

After waiting three months for an insurance payment to be processed ... Mizzou finally decides to send me my diploma.

Oh yeah :)
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Graduation Day

"I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities and to the most special places your heart has ever known."
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Research Rhymes

It's been two (!) weeks since my thesis defense, and I never posted the poem I wrote for my committee (which was probably the only reason I passed -- with revisions, of course). I'll spare you all the boring stanzas about my research; here's the beginning and the end:

Twas the day of my thesis defense, and I was shaking with fear
In the final hours of my grad school career
This semester has really flow by,
And months of research have been hard on my eyes.
. . .
So, dear committee, what do you think?
Is the intro too short? Does the conclusion stink?
Tell me your thoughts, bestow your advice.
I’m open to suggestions, but please be nice.
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Words of Wisdom

"I have been thinking this weekend about you, about the words, ideas and stories you have put together now—-part of the patchwork quilt of your passions and discoveries." -beginning of an e-mail from my thesis advisor, followed by An Old African Song:

Do not seek too much fame
But do not seek obscurity
Be proud
But do not remind the world of your deeds
Excel when you must
But do not excel the world
Many heroes are not yet born
Many have already died
To be alive to hear this song
That is a victory

I've posted that before, but it's always good to read again :)
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Master of Journalism

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." -e.e. cummings

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Thesis Defense Today

"The best defense is a good offense." -proverb.

Yikes.
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Academic Angst

"That's not a nice thing to say in this building." -a history professor attending a thesis defense in the Journalism School offers a semi-apology after groaning about the lack of accurate reporting in newspaper articles.
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Living in Paradise

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." -Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges
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Academia

"Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis." -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

120 pages and counting...

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Learning

"I never let schooling interfere with my education." -Mark Twain.

You've heard this one before, I'm sure, but it seems appropriate after all the thesis crap I've delt with recently. Less than a month left (hopefully)...
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Ummmm

"Maybe the last week of April." -my thesis advisor recommends a thesis-defense date. Too bad the last week of April is 14 days away, and my thesis is about 14 years away from being finished.
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My Inspiration

"You don't have writer's block. You're trying to start writing before you've finished thinking." -Mary Kay dishes her writer's wisdom at yesterday's Missouri Association of Publications conference. Another good point from her talk: "Boring language is the worst enemy of good writing."
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M-I-Z!

"Self-described as 'College Town USA,' Columbia is politically engaged, ranking fourth among the towns considered in terms of voter participation (71 percent). The University of Missouri, known as Mizzou, is the area’s largest employer with 12,000 full-time employees. It attracts scholars and professors from diverse fields, as one of the few schools with on-campus law, veterinary, and medical schools. Mizzou established the first school for journalism, which currently operates an NBC affiliate with the help of students. Another point of note: The campus contains the largest university research nuclear reactor in the country." -explanation of Mizzou's No. 12 ranking on the list of smartest college towns in America. Surprisingly placed one above good ole C-ville.

Check out the full list here.
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