It's Official!!

How are my loves today? Hopefully as lovely as the winter sun making the snow sparkle! That's saying a lot coming from me - I'm not a fan of winter! Anyways, I received the best news of my life (to date) a few minutes ago. So you remember that I got accepted to graduate school at NC State? Do you remember me going to NC State for recruitment weekend? Well...want to hear the life changing news or what? Maybe I'll find some pictures and quotes first. Make you wait a bit!

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. - Buddha

There is nothing more dreadful than doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. -Buddha

Ah! I can't wait anymore! News this big has to be told to the world!
I received the official letter of offer to attend North Carolina State University!! All I have to do is say YES!!
The offer is so much more than I ever could dream of. There were over 70 applicants and only 12 of us got accepted in the program. That itself is a huge feat - especially since NCSU is in the top 4 schools for Phytopathology in the country. Yes, I'm going to brag. I usually don't like to but I feel like I should a bit. So, 12 of us got accepted out of 70 something. I met the other 11 students and they are a great group of people and hope to work side by side with them this fall at NCSU. We are the selected few :)

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. -Buddha

WHAT WE THINK, WE BECOME. - Buddha

The offer they gave me..I don't even know how to describe how honored I feel. I'll tell you all about it. ONE: They are paying my full out-of-state tuition ($9465 per semester). TWO: They are paying all of my student fees (an additional $1100). THREE: They are providing me health insurance (with an extremely small deductible). FOUR: They are paying me an additional $20,000 as a stipend for being a Research Assistant.

Holding on to anger is like grabbing a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; YOU are the one who gets BURNED. - Buddha

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. -Dalai Lama

To top it off, I have been communicating with a few people from Hawai'i Manoa. I discovered that the funding the got for me was taken away. They lost the federal grant I was to be working on and would have minimal funding for only 8 months. Let's just say that this made my decision saying YES to NCSU very easy. Just so you all know, NCSU was my dream school. I thought it was a long shot applying and that I'd never get in. As it turns out, what seemed to be just a dream is now my reality. Who says dreams don't come true? Mom, that arrow quote you sent me...it is so true. See picture below :)

I'm pretty sure after 3 years at Madison the arrow is finally released. My aim - Ph.D.

Now you probably want to know what I'll be researching whilst I'm there. Just so you all know, I'm going to try going straight to a Ph.D. and skipping the Master's. Apparently that's a new big thing and a lot of incoming graduate students are shooting for a Ph.D. Might as well! Get done in 7 years or 10? I'm thinking 7. Anyways, I'll be researching under the supervision of Dr. Ignazio Carbone (http://plantpath.cals.ncsu.edu/faculty/ignazio-carbone). The project is a joint project with other universities and other departments within NCSU. I'll tone down all the plant pathology to normal people terms. Basically, there is a fungus that causes disease on corn that reduces the yield. I'll be researching a fungus that attacks this fungus so there is less disease on corn. This is called a biological control. So instead of spraying chemical fungicides on the food we eat, we can spray a fungus (that doesn't cause disease on corn) that does the same thing as synthetic fungicides. It's better for the environment and wicked cool. Yay for sustainability! Only PlantPath Girl gets excited over fungi that eat other fungi!!