OEB Newbie

I am successfully moved into my condo in Amherst, MA, trying to make it Home and well into my first semester as a graduate student in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) program at the University of Massachusetts. Todd Fuller is my major advisor. I was crazy enough to be the only one who had not met my advisor prior to our orientation day. Every one of the students knew and I think they were more nervous than me about our first meeting. Finally, as one professor entered the room all eyes fell on me. Ok, this must be him. But, I am lucky. I felt that Todd and I clicked and I think he is the right type of advisor for me. Sometimes you just know.

Now I have to work through my project without feeling overwhelmed. Todd finally had time to read my dhole proposal. The proposal I used for the NSF grant. I was pleased with myself for even having a proposal started – since we don’t officially need one until second year. I was feeling ahead of the game until now. After I asked Todd for initial comments, I got bombarded with questions—some of which I hadn’t considered. It is hard enough to read everything possible on dhole, but then he goes and asks, “What parallels are you drawing on among wolves, African wild dogs, Ethiopian wolves, and dholes that will help you understand dhole ecology?” Yikes—I know nothing of these other guys! But, I’m trying to be positive right? So, how do I approach this w/o feeling overwhelmed? Step by small step