Doors shut, doors open

I am finally ready to dive into my dissertation. Over the past six months, I found myself being pulled in many directions. Some doors are now shut. I was unable to make the first cut for a teaching position in Japan. But other doors have now opened up. A chance encounter at an academic conference has led to a grant for a student project. As usual, I am trying to activate and engage people to develop new opportunities for growth. We’ll have to see how far things will go this time.

Apple Product User Group for the Claremont Colleges

A CGU colleague and friend and I are preparing to launch an Apple Product User Group for the Claremont Colleges. So much is happening in the Apple space, it is impossible to keep up with the latest and greatest ways to improve our productivity as students. The hope is to stimulate conversations to tap into the amazing resource lying dormant in Claremont– us, the students.

The planned launch is for September. We will seed an email list in anticipation.

Embarking on a new adventure

Time to start something new. After spending a month in limbo after graduating from the MBA program, I am ready to move on. I met with our PhD coordinator yesterday and have a better idea of my journey ahead.

I am overjoyed that Prof Csikszentmihalyi and Prof Maciariello have graciously agreed to advise me for my PhD thesis. I will do my best to make the journey worth while for my advisors as well.

As I read my Japanese Twitter feeds, I realize how lucky I am to be in Claremont where it is possible for someone like me to even be able to enroll in a doctoral program. In Japan, the doors are pretty much shut for a woman in her forties with three young children to pursue a PhD. I feel right at home at Claremont Graduate University (CGU), whose students tend to be more mature and experienced.

This summer, I have three goals. One, to read as much as possible. Two, to get 4 units of coursework done. Three, to create and refine a mind map of what I think my research might look like.

Under construction

This is the future home for Emi Makino’s blog in English. I will be updating the site in May, once I am done with my MBA.

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