Posts in Life
Semester Recap: Reflecting on my time with the Communication Graduate Students' Association
Semester Recap: Reflecting on my time with the Communication Graduate Students' Association

As per usual, the semester literally flew by and a lot happened over the past few months - from teaching to conferences, papers to publications, and other projects - and I think it’s important to take some time to reflect on the goals that I set for the past few months and what I accomplished.

A good place to start this reflection off is by taking a look back at my involvement with the Communication Graduate Students’ Association (CGSA). I have served on the CGSA for the past three years of my academic studies, first as Executive VP (2018-2019), then Co-President (2019-2020), and finally President (2020-2021). Having fondly remembered CGSA events during my Master’s degree and inspired by my extracurricular involvement at Queen’s University - and the community that existed among its faculty and students - I was excited to work towards creating a similar environment at the Department of Communication.

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Life, Ph.D, VolunteerJennifer DumoulinVolunteering, Student involvement, Graduate studies, Student government
2020... Year in Review
2020... Year in Review

Ah, 2020… it’s certainly been a year like no other. The pandemic has impacted many of us to an unprecedented and unexpected degree - personally, professionally, financially, psychologically - and I know that many people reading this are keen to see 2020 head out the door, but I think if we each took some time to reflect, we’d see that 2020 hasn’t been all bad news.

So, in the spirit of the New Year, I thought I’d take a moment and reflect on some of the big things that I’ve accomplished this year (and I hope that, if you haven’t done so already, this will inspire you to do the same).

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Personal, Ph.D, Publications and Papers, Life, Conferences/PresentationsJennifer DumoulinNew Year, Personal, Goals, Accomplishments, Publications, Work
End of Summer Update: Because It's Been a Minute
End of Summer Update: Because It's Been a Minute

WOW! Is it almost the middle of September already? I can’t believe how quickly the summer went by. Before diving into some substantial content - I’ve been quiet for a while because I’ve been working on some big projects - I thought I’d take the time to give a bit of an update on what’s new and exciting.

Read on to hear about what’s been happening on the academic, professional and personal front, and to see what I have planned for the coming academic year!

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Life, Personal, Ph.D, Research, Teaching, Volunteer, Conferences/PresentationsJennifer DumoulinPandemic, Ph.D, Contract Work, Running, research, Planning
How to Write a Dissertation: Just Keep Writing
How to Write a Dissertation: Just Keep Writing

“Wow! Time flies when you’re… sitting in front your desk for large chunks of time several days a week.” Does that sound… frustrated? Or pessimistic? It shouldn’t - sarcasm doesn’t travel well in text format. Let me re-phrase.

WOW! Times flies when you’ve been focused and diligently chipping away at the first chapter of your dissertation. That statement is true. Time flies and deadlines loom. It’s a fact of life. In just over two weeks, I’m aiming to submit a draft of the first chapter of my dissertation to my supervisor. And I couldn’t be happier!

I won’t say that it’s been easy getting here, but in the past month I’ve written more than 30 pages (and most of is decent, which is a HUGE win). I still have another 10-15 left, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - and the week off that I plan to take before beginning Chapter 2. With that said, I thought I’d share some of the challenges and tips that I’ve used to overcome them along the way.

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Ph.D, LifeJennifer DumoulinDissertation, Wri, Ph, Academic