NicoleThe academic program stuff
Since I’ve not been keeping up with posting, here’s a list of where things are at with my graduate program. It’s an attempt to try to get everyone caught up, at least at a surface-level.
The TL;DR: I’m checking academic boxes in degree requirements and “academic capital” like conference presentations and publications. It is proving a fruitful experience. I love what I do.
- In August I will be starting my 3rd year as a PhD student in the NC State’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management program. I am enjoying the challenge and I’ve packed quite a bit in these last 2 years. I’m aiming to graduate in December of 2025.
- I’m finished with all my coursework. I had a little scare with an intense multivariate & longitudinal data analysis class this past spring, but phew, I finished strong!
- I formed my dissertations committee and will be taking my comprehensive exams at the end of August. This is a key milestone to get through! A few weeks after that (maybe early October) I will defend my dissertation proposal.
- The goal of my dissertation is to better understand Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Boards. Active-friendly infrastructure is important for healthy communities, so I want to dig into some of the processes involved to get that infrastructure. Through the dissertation I will be amassing more experience with spatial and quantitative methods, as well as qualitative inquiry.
The academic extra-curriculars
- I’m a member of the NC State Bicycle Working Group, where we are working to improve the state of cycling (and by proxy other active travel modes) on campus in line with the master plan.
- I’m the Fellow for the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network’s Transportation Policy & Planning Work Group. This term started last October and goes through the end of September 2024. We’re working on a project that will hopefully lead to a publication.
- I did some data analysis for a green social prescription (aka park or nature prescription) study that was part of an international collaboration. I presented the findings at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting last November. This talk was titled Predictors of physical activity compared to physical health as a park prescription focus: A quantitative analysis of an international sample.
- I also presented a different analysis of that dataset at the Active Living Conference: Factors Influencing Likelihood of Participation in Green Social Prescriptions in an International Sample.
- I’ve been working on a project involving our campus micromobility (e-scooters and e-bikes). I will present our findings in the student poster session at the Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals Annual Meeting next month. It’s in Detroit, so I’m looking forward to getting to another major city. (I’ve only experienced the airport.)
- Another paper from my master’s thesis has been published and it is available open access here at the Journal of Health Eating and Active Living.
I’m enjoying doing these academic things. They are keeping me quite busy, but I don’t mind. I still prioritize my well-being and get plenty of sleep (usually). I stay active with swimming, running, and cycling, with hopefully some more emphasis on strength training. While I may not be doing any huge endurance events like I used to, having an activity plan is important to my routine.
There you have it! Things are going to be moving at a more rapid pace for me to stay on track with my goal graduation. And perhaps there will be less time in between my updates here!
Nicole
