As a professor, I began keeping notes about my personal academic experiences in order to assist students in becoming more successful. Here are some of my suggestions for graduate students.

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Have a Balanced Life!

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Nothing matters more than your health! To maintain a healthy lifestyle, you must strike a balance between your professional and personal lives. Schedule time for sleep, exercise, and socializing in the same way that you do for work. Maintain a consistent daily schedule. When pressed for time, undergraduates may resort to all-nighters and other short-term strategies. However, research is a marathon that necessitates a consistent approach to avoid burnout. Don't go on a work binge just because you're making good progress that day. Put it down at the end of your day and pick it up the next day. If you overdo it today, you will most likely crash in the coming days or weeks, and you will be no better off than if you kept a consistent schedule. If you stop before you finish, it is often simple and enjoyable to pick up your work the next day and continue working. Make new friends among your classmates and peers. These are the people who will be there to celebrate your successes and who will best understand the difficulties you are facing. My graduate school friends were crucial in making my Ph.D. experience a positive one, and seeing these friends at conferences and meetings is one of the most rewarding aspects of my business travel. Learn about and use your campus's physical and mental health resources.

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Find your Role Model & Mentors!

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My personal experiences have taught me that finding role models in life is critical to becoming more successful and achieving my goals sooner rather than later.

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Role models are people who are successful in areas where you want to succeed. They could be successful students, junior faculty members, thought leaders, or people who have a good work-life balance. Your first task is to identify these individuals. People you learn about through biographies or other means can also be role models if you can observe them up close and ask them questions. Your second task is to determine which characteristics appear to make them effective in comparison to others. Do they have a particular method for determining priorities? Do they have any routines or habits when it comes to their work? You don't have to imitate anyone exactly, but studying the habits and behaviors that make people successful is a great way to learn how to model your own life. 

 

Mentors are individuals who can offer you personal advice on specific situations and challenges that you may be facing. Mentoring can occur at a variety of intensity levels. You might ask a senior person at another institution a question once a year. It could also be a peer with slightly more experience than you, with whom you check in on a weekly basis. It could be someone you have an official'mentor' relationship with, or it could be a trusted person you occasionally reach out to. Remember that mentoring is a two-way street, regardless of the level of interaction. Respect your mentor's time by being prepared with thoughtful questions when you reach out, and make sure to share your successes and how their advice has helped you. You'll be surprised at how many people are willing to share their knowledge, but make sure they can relax knowing that their efforts were worthwhile.

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Here are some mentorship programs for civil engineering students.

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American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE )

https://collaborate.asce.org/mentoring/home

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Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers (IMO)

https://www.beyazbaretlikadinlar.org/

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University of Wisconsin, Platteville

https://www.uwplatt.edu/department/academic-support-programs/peer-mentor-program

https://www.uwplatt.edu/department/plexus-women-stem-program/mentor-program

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