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beccastareyesI have to include a Statement of Academic Intent with about every grad school ap I have to send. Basically who I am and what I want froma Ph. D. program. Here's what I have so far.
I've wanted to do science ever since I was a little girl -- the main matter was choosing what field I wanted to go in to. Believe me, that was not an easy task -- I've been interested in everything from linguistics to high-energy physics to marine biology. A love of science fiction drew me to astronomy in middle school and further research in the local library, and with my Dad's binoculars and Comet Hale-Bopp confirmed it. The universe was a beautiful place, and the amount of information one could get by doing various things to starlight amazed me. Beginning calculus and learning how math could be applied to science, especially physics and astrophysics, sealed the deal--I loved math, and it and science were two great tastes that were even better together.
Non-academic factors made me choose the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln's physics program for my undergraduate work. Due to a scheduling mishap, I was unable to get into the introductory astronomy course, but a guest lecture by Dr. Martin Gaskell in another class led to a tour of UNL's Student Observatory and a suggestion that I apply for an Undergraduate Research grant under him. Because I wanted to eventually get my Ph. D., I knew that meant figuring out if I would mind research. I spent 2 years under Dr. Gaskell, studying the variability of quasars, which included two talks (one at UNL's Undergraduate Research Symposium in Fall2002, and one at MARAC, the Mid-American Regional Astrophysics Conference, in Spring 2003) and one poster presentation (again at UNL's Undergrad Research Symposium in Spring 2004). I was also able to land a spot in the University of Wyoming's REU program in Summer 2004, where I worked on modeling galaxy rotation curves under Dr. Daniel Dale. I will be presenting a poster at AAS this January on my work there.
Most of my work so far has been with galaxies, and I have to admit they fascinate me -- though, as my introduction indicates, I find many subjects fascinating. However, galaxies are a topic that could keep me busy for many lifetimes. (Insert some stuff about researchers in the field at that university).
However, I admit that my astronomy experience has been limited to working under two professors and a few courses offered at UNL. There is a whole universe of things out there. Though I am not one to flake off of a project without reason, I also believe that I should find a job that is satisfying to me. Indeed, if I wanted to be successful and rich, with no regard to job satisfaction, I would have been an engineer. (Insert some stuff about other options at that university).
Ultimately, I would like to get my Ph.D. and become a professor at a university. When I entered college, I thought I would like to weasel my way out of as much teaching as possible. However, once I was offered a job as an Astronomy TA as a sophomore, I started to change my mind. I found it immensely satisfying to share my love of astronomy with other people -- even the non-science majors taking Descriptive Astronomy to fill their science requirement. I would never want to give up research to teach fulltime, but I would like to be a professor at a university someday --including the teaching responsibility. To me, that would be my dream job, and the next step on that path is to get my Ph.D.
I've wanted to do science ever since I was a little girl -- the main matter was choosing what field I wanted to go in to. Believe me, that was not an easy task -- I've been interested in everything from linguistics to high-energy physics to marine biology. A love of science fiction drew me to astronomy in middle school and further research in the local library, and with my Dad's binoculars and Comet Hale-Bopp confirmed it. The universe was a beautiful place, and the amount of information one could get by doing various things to starlight amazed me. Beginning calculus and learning how math could be applied to science, especially physics and astrophysics, sealed the deal--I loved math, and it and science were two great tastes that were even better together.
Non-academic factors made me choose the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln's physics program for my undergraduate work. Due to a scheduling mishap, I was unable to get into the introductory astronomy course, but a guest lecture by Dr. Martin Gaskell in another class led to a tour of UNL's Student Observatory and a suggestion that I apply for an Undergraduate Research grant under him. Because I wanted to eventually get my Ph. D., I knew that meant figuring out if I would mind research. I spent 2 years under Dr. Gaskell, studying the variability of quasars, which included two talks (one at UNL's Undergraduate Research Symposium in Fall2002, and one at MARAC, the Mid-American Regional Astrophysics Conference, in Spring 2003) and one poster presentation (again at UNL's Undergrad Research Symposium in Spring 2004). I was also able to land a spot in the University of Wyoming's REU program in Summer 2004, where I worked on modeling galaxy rotation curves under Dr. Daniel Dale. I will be presenting a poster at AAS this January on my work there.
Most of my work so far has been with galaxies, and I have to admit they fascinate me -- though, as my introduction indicates, I find many subjects fascinating. However, galaxies are a topic that could keep me busy for many lifetimes. (Insert some stuff about researchers in the field at that university).
However, I admit that my astronomy experience has been limited to working under two professors and a few courses offered at UNL. There is a whole universe of things out there. Though I am not one to flake off of a project without reason, I also believe that I should find a job that is satisfying to me. Indeed, if I wanted to be successful and rich, with no regard to job satisfaction, I would have been an engineer. (Insert some stuff about other options at that university).
Ultimately, I would like to get my Ph.D. and become a professor at a university. When I entered college, I thought I would like to weasel my way out of as much teaching as possible. However, once I was offered a job as an Astronomy TA as a sophomore, I started to change my mind. I found it immensely satisfying to share my love of astronomy with other people -- even the non-science majors taking Descriptive Astronomy to fill their science requirement. I would never want to give up research to teach fulltime, but I would like to be a professor at a university someday --including the teaching responsibility. To me, that would be my dream job, and the next step on that path is to get my Ph.D.
