Well friends,
I made a decision with my friend to start a podcast. After feeling left behind when I was not accepted into a certain program I was hoping to, I felt so down. Actually, I was angry. I never get angry but I was. I truly felt that I was an amazingly strong candidate who would return the investment 10-fold. This anger, however, turned into a new energy… an energy which reinforced my ambition, which had been lost in the day I was rejected.
As a life-long radio listener (well, close to 20 of 28 years) I was a quick podcast-adopter. After listening to such inspirational people like Dan Miller, Pat Flynn, and members of more “entertainment” style shows like IGN’s Game Scoop! and NPR’s Car Talk, I chose to start a podcast. What surprised me the most was how quickly this turned around.
I received the “bad news” March 17th.
I resolved to produce a podcast on March 20th.
I assembled a trio (including myself) of hosts, outlined a first episode, and came up with the name on March 30th. Purchased the domain two days later.
By April 8th, our first episode was published on iTunes! PhD (in Progress) Podcast aims to help former/current/future grad students improve their educations, careers, and lives. Grad students, PhD’s in particular, encounter somewhat unique experiences and obstacles, therefore our goal is to provide guidance and education.
I want to thank everyone who has been inspirational. I’m glad I got a mad. I’m glad I now have a podcast. When I was a young kid, I would have DIED to work on a radio show. Now I can make one in a room with my friends and I have spent under $200 doing so.
More importantly, this is a platform to help others. Nikhil, Abigail, and I can now reach out beyond our university, beyond our friends, and even beyond our continent. From April 8th to May 8th, we have had over 500 downloads across 4 episodes and each new installment increases the audience. I’m so happy to have the support of my friends and family to help hundreds of others.
As the three of us examine our graduate school experiences, we’ve seen that there are endless topics to discuss and countless stories to hear. Let’s try to collect some of those in our show!
My goals for the PhD (in Progress) Podcast:
- Improve the PhD experience for everyone
- Relate interesting stories
- Discuss issues that are maybe a bit taboo or hushed
- Help reform the idea of what being a grad student means
As I continue this project, I wish you luck in your pursuits. Keep rocking it.