Profile of Grad Student Luke MacDonald
Princeton is an exciting place to be. I am very happy with my choice to join the department and the EEWR program for graduate study. Here, I find good research opportunities, and great flexibility in course and research topics, allowing me to spend time on the things that interest me most.
The students and professors I interact with each day engage me in discussions that foster scientific creativity. Faculty members in our department are approachable, easy to work with, and encourage community among students. During the school year we hold weekly lunchtime seminars, a.k.a. “brown bag”, where students present their work. We follow it up that evening with an informal social hour and, as a result, I see a genuine camaraderie and a positive attitude among my fellow students.
Outside of the EEWR program, Princeton allows abundant possibilities for collaborating with other faculty and students. Courses and programs that the Princeton Environmental Institute offers help me to gain a broad view of the work we do in EEWR, linking our work to other fields of science and to public policy.
Beyond the classroom and lab, Princeton graduate students enjoy a high quality of life. We spend years working hard to obtain our degrees, so the importance of our quality of life cannot be overstated. Fortunately, the town boasts good restaurants, a great arts scene at McCarter theatre, and good places to run and bike. The university takes an interest in making our life enjoyable. The office of Graduate Student Life offers us over a dozen events each month, like rafting, cooking lessons, or serving food at Trenton soup kitchens. I belong to the Shotokan Karate club on campus, which is the perfect balance of exercise and martial arts training, led by a superb instructor. Our department has intramural teams in soccer, softball, broomball, and water polo. Such things make Princeton a fantastic place for my years of graduate study.