Sarah Greenblatt

Name:    Sarah Greenblatt                Program: CMM            Lab: Dr. Small

Hometown: Germantown, MD        Previous Colleges Attended: UNC Chapel Hill

As a 4th year student in the Cell and Molecular Medicine Program, I feel like I have overcome several major hurdles in graduate student life.  My biggest challenge so far has been the process of selecting a thesis lab. As a Type A-personality and enthusiastic planner, I chose my future lab during my senior year of college and applied to Johns Hopkins in order to work for one specific advisor. My lab rotation went well, but something in my gut kept telling me it was the wrong fit. I moved on to my second rotation in a completely different area of research and realized that I enjoyed the project, people, and advising style much better in that lab.  Even though this was obvious to everyone around me, I continued to pursue my original choice because this was part of my “plan”. It took my own peer mentor, a college friend (and Biology major turned Chef) to remind me that life rarely goes according to plan and not to ignore my instincts.  Once I took a step back, I was able to see that I would be much happier and successful in my current thesis lab.

One of the things I have learned through my experience so far, is to find outlets for yourself outside of science. For me this meant joining a marathon training team and hiking group in my second year of school. In addition to all those good exercise endorphins, I was able to make friends with people outside of science. These friends continue to keep me balanced and are always very impressed with my research since they have no idea what I’m talking about.  I look forward to meeting all of you and sharing my graduate student experiences so far.