The Year Ahead...

Our blog has been very empty and lackluster over the past few months; however, now that we are settling back into routine I hope the blog can come alive again.  That said, it is time for an update on the year ahead...

2011 will be a big year for both of us! Steffen has embarked on his candidacy preparation and will have his candidacy exam in April of this year. This means lots of preparation and lots of bench work! In  January Steffen gave two talks about his work, one to his entire program and one to his lab group. Both went well and he has a clear plan for the upcoming months. I am sure he will do superbly and come summer he will officially be a PhD candidate in Chemical Biology!!!

For me 2011, will bring graduation! December 17^th, 2011 I will graduate with my MSW and MPH. I am thrilled for this day to come and to celebrate this accomplishment. Until then, I will be working hard in class and in the field.  With summer will come a break from classes for me. This will be my first semester without classes in about 18 months! Instead of classes, my summer will be focused on a public health internship. As of right now, I’m not quite sure where my internship will be…

Aside from graduate school the two of us are enjoying some special events in Michigan. In January, we went to the North American International Car Show in Detroit and a fantastic concert by the Life Sciences Orchestra. In February, we will head west to join friends at the Michigan Winter Beer Festival just outside of Grand Rapids. Beyond that, we will see what develops but I am sure that there will be fun trips scheduled and perhaps some visitors!