When I got to Tech, I knew people applied for funding on
their own, but I was not sure if I needed to or how everything worked. Gregg
suggested that I apply for one of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships. I had
been thinking a bit about what I wanted to do, but with a deadline I really had
to nail down what I was going to do. It took about a month to get everything in
line and ready to submit, which I thought was pretty good since I had no idea
what I was doing a month before and had never submitted a proposal. Unfortunately,
I didn’t get the fellowship, but it was a great experience and made the next
grant that I would apply for much easier to handle.
A month after applying to NSF, I applied for the Michigan
Space Grant. I was fortunate enough to have been awarded the grant! I was and
still am really excited about it because it is a great confidence builder and
made me think that my project must be pretty good. I was feeling pretty luck in
the area of grants, so I decided to apply for a Sigma Xi Grant in-aid of
Research. Again, I was awarded the grant! I also applied for an NSF-sponsored
student workshop at the Cities on Volcanoes III conference. Much to my surprise
I got that too!
It’s important to remember that it is not just the big
agencies that offer funding. Check out funding through your university. For
example, I received 2 fellowships through MTU (the DeVlieg Foundation and the
Class of 1944 Fellowship). Finally, other organizations that you may be
involved in can have scholarships. I was awarded a Graduate Student scholarship
from the Episcopal Association of College Work this summer.
So, in total, I have received almost $11,100 to travel and
use for other research needs! I have been pretty lucky. Of course, amid all
this success, I have gotten plenty of rejections, but you just have to keep
putting yourself on the line!
Home
|