CARI On

The CARI program is long and full of many challenges. The ordeals you have faced before cannot compare to the thesis writing process. Everything that CARI teaches accumulates into one semester of writing and research. As I end my undergraduate and transition into graduate school, I have been reflecting on the best piece of advice I can give to you for your last semester of CARI. I believe that the best advice I can provide, concerning your thesis and the writing process, is that you should appreciate every stressful moment of your last CARI class. I know that it may sound a little weird, but your thesis is the capstone of your undergraduate career.

While in undergrad you have learned a lot of different policy issues that the world faces. Your thesis should highlight the policy problem that you believe to be the most important issue to solve. To be successful, you should narrow down this issue to its core problem and explore the problem’s origin. I personally knew that I was interested in how environmental science intersects with public policy. So I decided to research how multiple different types of governments work together to manage a vast resource. Your thesis topic should be something you are passionate about because you will be spending a lot of time with it. Finding an issue is difficult, but narrowing it down can be even harder.

Finding your topic is hard, but following your writing schedule is harder. It may sound weird, but writing a thesis involves a lot of writing. For class, we scheduled a time to write throughout the week. Follow your writing time. There are a lot of other things that could be accomplished during those times, but in the long run following your schedule will save your sanity. The writing process will take a long time, and you will have many errors. But, just like the Philadelphia 76ers, you should trust the process because it will bring you success.

Writing your thesis is stressful. Stressing out will not solve any issues. In fact, it will make things harder for you. The best way to manage your stress is just to buckle down and do the task at hand. In addition, it is better to start earlier rather than later. As your last semester progress, you will have a lot of opportunities to get distracted with the majority of these activities occurring in the second half of the semester. Stress can be a healthy thing if you use it correctly during the writing process.

Your CARI thesis should be a celebration of your accomplishments. You are in a unique program whose participants continue to work on their topic into their professional careers. If you embrace your topic, your topic will embrace you both in the classroom and into the professional world. While working on your thesis remember why you wanted to join this program, and embrace the stress, because it will make you stronger. Although your thesis is the end of your undergraduate career, it is the beginning of your life after college.