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October 26, 2006

My Journey of Sorts...

Did you hear that Mayo Clinic is planning to possibly offer their employees the opportunity to earn a M.S. or Ph.D. in biostatistics through the U of MN while they are employeed by Mayo Clinic? This is still in the works, and is only a possibility at the moment, but the biostatistics department here is considering it. I cannot help but feel I had something to do with this. How?

Well, let me tell you a story about one of the hardest decision I have had to make in my life. It all started back in 2004 when I was graduating from Western Michigan University with a M.S. degree. I interviewed at Mayo Clinic. In fact, I had a series of three interviews (maybe four, I can't remember exactly). The last interview was an all day panel interview. I was told they were down to three candidates, and I was one of them. Well, it turns out I did not get the job.

In April of 2005, I came across one of the guys that took part in the interview process at Mayo Clinic in, of all places, Philidelphia at a SUGI (SAS User Group International) conference. We briefly chatted about the M.S. job at Mayo Clinic. He must have communicated this to the hiring manager because in October of 2005 (a year ago), the hiring manager contacted me to see if I was still interested. In fact, at this time I was already considering the idea of going back to school. But I decided to go in for an interview anyways. After one interview, they offered me the job. However, this time, I was in the driver's seat, so to speak, so I was equally able to interview them. I asked them about their educational opportunities. They do offer their employees the opportunity to earn a M.S. in statistics from Iowa State University. I inquired about the possibility of earning a Ph.D. while working there. They said that they did not have a program for Ph.D. degree set-up, and didn't know if they could work that out with Iowa State University.

Needless to say, I chose going back to school over the Mayo Clinic job, despite Mayo Clinic offering a nice salary and benefit package. This was the toughest decision I have had to make. I was still in the process of applying at schools, and wasn't sure if I would even be accepted anywhere. There was so much doubt in my mind if I would even be accepted, and Mayo Clinic was a sure thing, that it made the decision even harder. My family was pushing me to take the job offer. My husband took the neutral stance and said to follow my heart. My friend Tracey, who is getting her Ph.D. in statistics right now, urged me to go back to school. I prayed and prayed, and came to the decision that school was best for me.

I told Mayo Clinic the truth, that although they presented me with a good offer, I was unable to accept it because they did not have the opportunity to earn a Ph.D. while working there. I was twisted about my decision. I was in waiting for months until I heard from all of the schools I had applied.

After a few months I found out that I had been accepted at three universities, all of them good schools. I chose U of MN, and here I am today. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are considering offering Ph.D. level classes to Mayo Clinic employees via U of MN. Hopefully this will all work out. But, somehow I feel like I had something to do with this motivation. I am not sure, but it feels goods anyways.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 5:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 20, 2006

My time as a function of school
(that's for all of you math/stat/biostat types out there)


After one of the most stressful weeks, I can finally unload my stress just in time for the weekend. This week I had three homework assignments due and an in-class exam. Each homework assignment took me about 10 hours to finish. However, Real Analysis realistically took 12 hours because it is so rigorous, but the professor gave assistance on the tricky ones, so I can't complain. I studied approximately 14 hours in total for the in-class exam, plus worked 20 hours this week. I spent a little over 12 hours in classes, and two hours in a clinic/supplement for Real Analysis. So how much time is that this week just doing school work and work? Let's see...10 + 10 + 12 + 14 + 20 + 12 + 2 = 80 hours! That’s 80 hours in 7 days! That's like two full-time jobs. Wow! I have never counted it up before.

If you want to throw some more numbers at it, I probably spent about 11 hours commuting back and forth towards campus. That’s 91 hours this week. Needless to say, that hardly left any time for my personal life. I averaged about 3 hours of sleep a night this week. Now, for you statistician's out there, that's an average, so that implies there were nights I slept less than 3 hours. Like last night, a solid two hours of sleep (yawn).

So after one of the most stressful weeks, what am I expecting for this next week? Well, I have only one homework assignment due on Thursday for Survival Analysis, and that's just fun to do. I would guess about 10 hours at the most I will spend on this one. That will put this next week at 20 hours of work + 12 hours in class + 3 hours in a clinic/supplement for Real Analysis + 10 hours on homework + 11 hours of commuting = 56 hours. That's much more doable than the 91 hours this week.

My plans for the weekend are to relax, and maybe just get Survival Analysis all done, so I can have one enjoyable week. This all unintentionally worked out. There is a family event this weekend that's out of town, so maybe I can just enjoy it. Oh, I think that's a baby shower on the radar for this weekend, but I am not sure whether I can make it or not at this point. Anyways, after one stressful week, this lady is going to do nothing tonight but catch up on her sleep. :-)

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 3:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 16, 2006

Am I taking this the wrong way?

Well I got my first Real Analysis (math 5615) exam back today. Let's just say that I didn't do as well as I thought I did. I was anxious to get my exam back just to find comments from the professor on my exam. It read "What on earth are you thinking of here?", and "You've really scrambled the logic". Ok, so I kind of see that the second comment wasn't that mean, but the first comment sure was. Why is the "on earth" part needed? I am thinking to emphasize his point, but really, that is condescending. I wasn't sure if I was more upset about my grade or about the comments. Ok, so here's come the title of my blog...am I taking this the wrong way?

I really don't know how to gauge the grading in the class. First of all, the T.A. (who goes unnamed, really we never learned his name) grades all of our homework, while the professor grades the exams. So really, I hoped for the best turning in the exam, but didn't know how the professor would grade the exam. Some of the homework assignments in that class I do well on when I don't have a good feeling turning them in, while on others I will have a fairly confident feeling and do not do so well. So, really I don't know what to expect. It seems like my gauging of the grading is completely off no matter what.

I have heard from other students that the other section of this class (taught by a different professor), gives significantly less homework. I am thinking now that having less homework would allow for more time to really let the material sink in. I could see how it wouldn't in the case of some other students, but for me, it would.

So, I am just not going to let any more "not so good" exams or "not so good" homeworks come out of this class. At least I am taking the class pass-fail. However, it still consumes as much time as my other classes combined. Maybe this professor's teaching style conflicts with my learning style, but this is something I will just have to deal with and work out.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 7:10 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 12, 2006

About Me...

I thought I would give you all a snapshot of who I am. I am a 1st-year Ph.D. student in Biostatistics.Me

In 2002, I graduated from Winona State University (MN) with a B.A. in mathematics with a double major in statistics. Then, in 2004 I earned a M.S. in biostatistics (statistics) at Western Michigan University. After I graduated with my master's degree, I was anxious to work. I worked for a little over 2 years here in Minneapolis, or really a suburb of Minneapolis. My job was as a data analyst, but I wanted more. I knew I needed some structure, and it would be difficult (if not impossible) to gain a more theoretical background without going back to school.

So here I am, back in school. It was hard to get back into the swing of things, as you might imagine. But now I feel close to the point in my education where I left off. U of MN is a tough school, much tougher than Winona State University and Western Michigan University. However, I would not be where I am today without attending Winona State and Western Michigan.

This first year back, I am sort of taking some review courses. For instance, I am currently taking Real Analysis (Math 5615) which is a prerequisite to the biostat program that I did not meet. They strongly recommended that I take this class prior to taking the Ph.D. core classes. Most of the biostat master's students take this class in their second year. Also, I am taking Stat Theory (Stat 8101), which is part review, but more theoretical than the Stat Theory I have taken in the past. Additionally, I am taking Survival Analysis and auditing Statistical Methods for Correlated Data. I would say, U of MN gives you a strong theoretical foundation.

If you are missing this theoretical background, then it will be hard, but possible, to obtain this theoretical background here to the point of the other students. It is very evident that the master's students have a very theoretical background. I would say Winona and Western Michigan were good at providing an applied background, and just ok at providing the theoretical background. This theoretical gap is evident in my classes, but I am working towards closing this gap.

My dogs: Eve & WilburI can give you a snapshot of who I am besides the academic side of me. I am an independent, hard-working, persistent, athletic person who would rather blog these thoughts than discuss these thoughts. Writing these blogs helps me feel more articulate. I am a runner, a soccer player, and a wife. I am a mom to none, except for maybe my pets. I have two dogs, a bird, and some fish. Here are my dogs:

I commute about an hour and 15 minutes to school, driving to a park and ride, and then taking the bus into campus. If I drove straight to campus, it would probably take me 45 minutes, but what student can afford the cost of parking and driving into campus, and on top of that dealing with the stress of traffic. I love Minnesota, but I don't like the winters. The beauty of the lakes and the trees makes MN a desirable place to live.

After I graduate, I hope to do research and teach. I want to continue learning for the rest of my life. I don't want to lose my knowledge I acquire here at school. Maybe after I graduate I will do a post-doctorate somewhere for a couple years, before settling down to a certain location and college. Once I get a job as a professor somewhere, I hope to stay put, and work there for my career (unless something changes my mind).

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 7:24 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 1, 2006

Today I accomplished my goal: Running the Twin Cities Marathon

What a day to be writing to all of you! It is with great satisfaction that I can share that I ran the Twin Cities Marathon today. I have been training for this marathon since the beginning of March of this year. I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 7 minutes, according to my chip. My goal was to run this marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes, so I exceeded my goal.

First mile of the marathon.I have wanted to run a marathon for years now. I got my first urge to run a marathon in 2002, when my former employer ran a marathon herself. Then, when I was in grad school at Western Michigan University, my friend ran a marathon (in 2003). Their stories of personal satisfaction of accomplishing such a daunting task only made me want to run a marathon more. Now, I can share with you my experiences of running a marathon.

The marathon started at the Minneapolis Metrodome. It was about 57 degrees outside, but when I finished it was probably around 70 degrees out. There were so many people everywhere. The marathon had us form two waves according to our registration information. At 7:50 am the wheelers got to go first. Then at 8 am, wave 1 got to start the race. Finally, at 8:05, my wave, wave 2 got to start the race. It was slow in the beginning because there were just so many people. After a mile, the people started to spread out a little more.

My husband met me at mile 1 to cheer me on. Then, the runners exited downtown Minneapolis toward Lake of the Isles. There were hardly any spectators here. Next was Lake Calhoun. I trained on this lake, but it seemed so different in the fall. There were tons of spectators at Lake Calhoun. My husband met me again on the south side of Lake Calhoun, at mile 6. Moving on, we ran next to Lake Harriet. This was crowded from curb to curb with runners. The roadway narrowed and people were practically on top of you. I hopped on the curb to bypass people. My husband's family met me at mile 9, leaving Lake Harriet. This was a pleasant surprise to me.

Next thing you know, I have already ran 10 miles. I couldn't believe how fast those 10 miles went. I only hoped the rest of the race would be like this.

The next lake to run by was Lake Nokomis. We actually ran over the lake on a bridge, and then wrapped around the lake. It felt like we were running next to this lake forever. Further down the course, my husband along with his family met me at mile 15. My husband had carbohydrate gels that he handed me when I intercepted him. (I actually used 4 carbohydrate gels throughout the entire course.) People were handing out bananas and oranges at mile 15. The terrain was rather flat at this point. We were running parallel with the Mississippi River, heading north.

Mile 17 was the CLIF Shot mile. Volunteers were handing out CLIF shots (i.e., carbohydrate gels) for free to any racer who wanted them. I took one, but couldn't open it because my hands were slippery from sweat. My gracious husband along with his family met me again at mile 18. I had him open it for me.

At mile 19 we crossed the bridge over the Mississippi River exiting Minneapolis and entering St. Paul. We headed down hill at this point. This was great, but then it meant we had to travel back up hill. At this point we were paralleling the Mississippi River, but heading south. We headed up hill for about 1.5 miles. It seemed like forever. My feet hurt, and my legs were tired, and now we had to climb a hill. Spectators kept saying "you're almost there", but we weren't, I looked up and we still had much of the hill to run.

What spectators refer to as "the wall", an artifical wall structure built for the race, was at the very top of the hill. I believe this was mile 21. I would say miles 21 - 23 were the hardest to run. My body was tired and there was still at least an hour until I would hit the finish line.

My husband and his family met me again at mile 24. It gave me something to look forward to in those difficult miles. By the time I was near my husband, my asthma kicked in. I needed to control my breathing since I did not have my inhaler with me. My husband had forgotten it in the car. Dang! So, I counted my breathing until it was under control, and then picked up my pace again.

At mile 25 I saw my uncle. Actually, I didn't see him, but rather he saw me and was calling out my name. This gave me energy just in time for a strong finish. Target Corporation also had a tunnel of music at the beginning of mile 25. They were playing "The Black-Eyed Peas". I started singing with the music. When I exited the tunnel, I started running fast. The last 0.5 mile, I could see the finish line. I started sprinting. I just wanted to be done. I passed so many people during this last mile. I don't know where my second wind of energy came from, but it helped me feel exhiliarated at the finish line. When I crossed the finish line, I threw my hands in the air. They had volunteers at the finish line who wrapped each runner in a foil blanket as they finished. It felt so good.

At the finish line, my family was awaitng my arrival. They had decorated a poster board for me.

My husband and myself at the State Capitol after crossing the finish line.I am so happy that I did this marathon. It was worth it! All the training, all the time, all the forsaking of things in order to do these long training runs...all of it was worth it. I feel sore right now, but proud of myself. I can't believe that I am now a "marathon runner". I don't think everyone can run a marathon, as I have heard others say, but I do think that if you are capable, you should definitely experience this at least once in your life. I will never forget today.

Posted by Stefanie Schussler at 9:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)