A week at the beach

After graduation, my family and I headed out to the Outer Banks (specifically, Nags Head). We had rented a house for the week right on the beach. Shawn had to stay behind for a few days and work, but he got in Tuesday night.

Overall, the trip was a blast. We had great views--we could even see dolphins from the deck!

We spent our time visiting sites such as the Wright Brother's Memorial (NC is "first in flight" you know).

And the various lighthouses of the Outer Banks. First up was Currituck. This lighthouse is the only one along the Outer Banks left in its original brick state. It was thought that with the original brick, it was easier to see just how many bricks were used to make up the lighthouse. 

Shawn, Jeff and I made the climb to the top.

More on some of our other excursions in the days to come.

Graduation 2013

After three plus years I am the proud recipient of a PhD! (I add the "plus" to the three years because the PhD program was three years, but the master's program was two, and the bachelor's was four...). Most PhD programs take four or more years, but the program at UNC is supposed to be accomplished in three years--that's how long your funding lasts anyway. Some semesters I took five classes; I submitted and received a grant to support my dissertation research; I completed my comprehensive exams (a series of five closed book essay-like documents that were about 15 pages each, done in a four hour time block over the course of a week and a half) early in the summer; I defended my dissertation proposal in the summer before my third year and then spent the third year using the grant funds to implement a campaign in six NC schools and evaluate it; I then wrote up my dissertation--a 100 plus page document that included theory and application, and passed my dissertation defense. When I look back, it seems like A LOT happened in those three years.

Graduation was great. My parents, brother and extended family came out. So nice to have so much support! I can't even begin to thank everyone for all their support and encouragement throughout the last three years. Shawn has been wonderful, whether it was dealing with late night study sessions or listening to my research presentations, and my family and friends have really helped make this experience a great one.

UNC has multiple graduations (three in total that PhDs could participate in). I participated in two of them. The first was just for graduate degrees across the university. We had a great commencement speaker and that was when I was first "hooded." On my left is my wonderful advisor.

The second graduation was the next day for all students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. At this ceremony, I again was hooded by my advisor, but I also received my diploma!

Overall, it was a great weekend, and I really enjoyed sharing it with all my family!

Below are a few other pictures from the weekend: