What to expect in your first year and beyond

What was your favorite thing from the past year?

• "My favorite thing this year was attending ENAR for the first time. It was nerve-wracking to give a talk there in a room full of people, but it was fun to go to other people's talks and learn new things. And the sightseeing was great!" (5^th year student)
• "I really enjoyed attending UP-STAT and seeing the local statistics community come together to share their knowledge. I have also enjoyed getting to know the faculty and classmates outside the classroom during the happy hours." (5^th year student)
• "My favorite part of this year so far has been attending conferences and presenting my research. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with alumni and spend quality one-on-one time with my fellow classmates." (5^th year student)
• "My favorite part was preparing my proposal and presenting. It was incredibly gratifying to put together all of my work in my proposal and to really begin to comprehend all that I've learned so far." (4^th year student)
• "Over the past year, I've gained great experience with teaching opportunities. Participating as a Teaching-As-Research fellow, I've been working to "flip" an undergraduate statistics course so that video lectures are assigned as homework and class time is dedicated to real-data workshops, giving students an active learning environment for developing their statistical toolkit. The project received support through a STEM Initiative grant, and our goal is to take a step forward in making statistics more accessible to all students, regardless of what their primary discipline is! This has been a fantastic experience for me in preparing for a career as a college professor." (3^rd year student)
• "The most exciting thing was my internship in the Mayo Clinic. It is wonderful that our department has the bioinformatics concentration in the PhD program, which opens more opportunities for us, the students, in the future job market. This is indeed how I earned this intern opportunity in the Biomedical Statistics and Informatics Department in Mayo Clinic." (3^rd year student)

• "My internship application experience. After updating and formatting my resume, tailoring cover letters, applying to all the places I was interested in from the ASA “internship list”, searching local ads, going to career fairs on campus, and waiting to hear back, I finally got my first interview! Receiving an offer felt fulfilling. It meant that I, as a professional, have a value, and all the hard work along the way paid off. The department prepared me well!" (2^nd year student)

• "I did two consulting projects over the summer: Vestibular Effects on Balance in Cervical Dystonia and a project on Huntington's disease for Roche Pharmaceuticals. This great experience helps me to improve methodology in clinical trials, software skills, as well as communication skills." (2^nd year student)

• "Everything was pretty great! I really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and learning a ton about statistics." (1^st year student)

How would you describe your first year in the program?

• "It was demanding but not too stressful. The fact that we are such a supportive cohort definitely made the first year enjoyable."
• "A huge opportunity for personal and academic growth."
• "It was challenging, but thoroughly rewarding."
• "My first year was super busy and joyful. Besides the coursework, I explored different research topics through the reading courses, seminar papers, and doing research with several professors in the department. I also enjoyed a lot of fun moments (UR Meliora Weekend, Diwali Festival, Latino Dance, Chinese Lunar New Year party, many birthday parties) with my cohort friends and colleagues!"
• "The courses are tough, but a good growing experience."
• "Overall, I’d say more difficult than expected, but also more rewarding and useful than expected."
• "Three words to sum up my first year: Challenging, rewarding, exciting!"
• "It was challenging, but fun too. It is hard work, but I got a chance to learn many new things."