There is value in naiveté. Daniel Gonzales didn’t have a clue when he began college about the opportunities before him. And because he was naive he didn’t have any reason to say “no” when these opportunities were presented to him. Not know, hav

Episode 44 – Phil Klotzbach, PhD – Atmospheric Science

Jun 1st, 2021 59m 53s

t's the beginning of the 2021 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season, why not to talk to a hurricane expert. Phil Klotzbach, PhD is a part of a group of research scientists working to predict hurricanes. Currently, as of June 1, Phil's team from Color

Episode 43 – Brian Brettschneider, PhD – Environmental Geography

May 16th, 2021 1h 10m

From Texas to Alaska Brian Brettschneider has experienced some of the most extreme weather on earth. His love of weather really began as an extension of an early fascination with geography and then an introduction to The Weather Channel. Brian

Episode 42 – Linda Franck, RN, PhD, FAAN – Nursing

Apr 16th, 2021 1h 12m

The journey of a PhD in Nursing is certainly unique due to the fact there is an element of direct work experience required before moving onto graduate education. Dr. Linda Franck did not plan to become as she started college and she certainly w

Episode 41 – Sandra Halvorson, PhD – Speech Communication

Apr 1st, 2021 1h 4m

The leap from dancing, specifically belly dancing, to a PhD in Speech Communication is really not too far. Especially once you hear the story of how Sandra Halvorson, PhD took the journey. Sure; there was the family, the dance and exercise sc

Episode 40 – Eladio Bobadilla, PhD – History

Mar 16th, 2021 1h 23m

There's a common thread among many PhDs I have talked with over these 40 episodes; always looking for the next thing, even when the thing they are working on now is still in process. Maybe it's one of those key ingredients of making a PhD, the

Episode 39 – Chris Cornthwaite, PhD – Religious Studies

Mar 1st, 2021 1h 12m

The original destination for Chris Cornthwaite's PhD journey was a tenure track college professor gig. The universe had other plans and now Chris finds himself on two paths; using the knowledge and skillset developed during his PhD to help defi

Episode 38 – Brandon Hawk, PhD – Medieval Studies

Feb 15th, 2021 1h 11m

The Bible we are most familiar with is the King James version, commissioned by the English, or Scottish depending on your POV, king in the early 1600s. It is generally considered the most important book of the western world. But did you know th

Episode 37 – Charlie Eldrid , PhD – BioPhysics

Feb 2nd, 2021 1h 6m

More talk of proteins on this episode of Piled high and Deep-The Podcast. Charlie Eldrid, his PhD is coming later this month (I will update) is also doing some cutting edge science as he works to further develop the technology making identifyin

Episode 36 – Deanne Sammond, PhD – BioChemistry and BioPhysics

Jan 19th, 2021 1h 10m

What would you do if you realized the undergraduate degree you were about to complete wasn't what you wanted to do? For Dr. Deanne Sammond it was a realization the music degree she was about to complete was not going to be the path she wanted t

Episode 35 – Kali Wallace, PhD – GeoPhysics

Jan 1st, 2021 1h 47m

Writing is always a consistent theme in the journey of any PhD. For Kali Wallace, while she always had a love of making up stories, her PhD required her to use the facts to tell stories about the movement of tectonic plates. Today Kali is doi

Episode 34 – Dr. Lisa Munro, PhD – History

Dec 15th, 2020 1h 18m

The PhD journey of Dr. Lisa Munro is more of a journey journey, not so much the destination if the destination was really known at the time the journey began and as the journey continued the destination wasn’t really ever known even today as th

Episode 33 – Stephen Rosen, PhD – Nuclear Astrophysics

Dec 2nd, 2020 1h 19m

Even before earning his PhD, Stephen Rosen had quite a journey. After college and masters degree he found himself working on the front lines of the Cold War, building nuclear bombs. His PhD came later and led him to become part of the legendary

Episode 32 – Efraín E. Rivera Serrano, PhD – Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Jun 26th, 2019 1h 34m

Efra Rivera Serrano began his PhD journey very simply, he went to college in order to escape the poverty of rural Puerto Rico. He fell in love with biology after his college classes built upon his favorite subjects in high school. The goal mov

Episode 31 – Samuel Benz, PhD – Physics

May 22nd, 2019 1h 35m

You could say the the PhD journey for Dr. Sam Benz began as a kid. His father was a professor at a seminary in Iowa, studying The Old Testament and Greek, and Sam found himself at archeological dig sites, living overseas, and being exposed to t

Episode 30 – Sara McBride, PhD – English and Media Studies

Apr 12th, 2019 1h 31m

You might think a PhD built upon earthquakes and other natural disasters would be all science and stuff; not the case with Dr. Sara McBride. This journey begins with finding a love of writing and of far away places, putting those skills to work

Episode 29 – Emma Southon PhD, Ancient History

Mar 6th, 2019 1h 29m

A big driver for success in this world is finding something you enjoy doing, and it doesn't matter why. For Emma Southon, PhD in Ancient History it was embracing the horribleness of Ancient Rome that opened her eyes to how awesome history is.

Episode 28 – Cathy Asleson Dundon, Ph.D -Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics

Feb 21st, 2019 1h 14m

Tenacity is a trait common among PhDs. The drive to find answers, solve problems, develop solutions, or improve upon what is already established and or commonplace. For Cathy Dundon the PhD journey begins with an early introduction into the won

Episode 27 – Samer L. Hijazi, PhD Electrical Engineering

Jan 23rd, 2019 1h 3m

Samer Hijazi can point to a Japanese cartoon for being the inspiration for his pursuit of a PhD in Electrical Engineering. The cartoon was about a robot that understood what he was being told, but didn’t speak, but serves the greater good. This

Episode 26 — Gabrielle Palmer, PhD – Art History

Jan 9th, 2019 1h 2m

The adventures of Gabrielle Palmer are rooted in her childhood. An early love of art carried her through college studies, taking her to Ecuador and Spain, and inspiring her to lead the restoration of an 18th Century Spanish Church sitting in Do

Episode 25 – Peter McGraw, PhD – Pyschology

Apr 25th, 2018 1h 31m

Peter McGraw's PhD journey, both to the dissertation and after has taken him around the world. Pretty exciting for a guy with an interest for quantitative psychology and an understanding of why people make the decisions they do,. Then there's

Episode 24 – Robin O’Keefe, PhD Paleontology

Apr 12th, 2018 1h 12m

Robin O’Keefe knew at a young age what he wanted to do with his life, the problem was his older self didn’t listen at first. But it all turned out for the best and Robin is doing exactly what he was meant to do, a paleontologist that teaches a

Episode 23 – Donna Halper, PhD Communications

Mar 28th, 2018 1h 12m

The ability to push through obstacles is a defining quality in Donna Halper’s PhD journey. She had a goal of being on the radio and a bunch of college boys in the 60s were not going to keep her from her dream. When Donna realized the radio ind

Episode 22 – Rochelle Dalla, PhD – Human Development & Family Studies

Mar 14th, 2018 1h 27m

The PhD journey for Dr. Rochelle Dalla has been focused on women who have found themselves on the margins of society; first Native American teenage mothers and then sex workers in the middle of America and then India. These are women that find

Episode 21 – Paige Backlund Jarquin, MPH, DrPh- Public Health

Jan 3rd, 2018 59m 48s

Sometimes the journey to a PhD has nothing to do with the PhD at all, it has to do with the ultimate goal. For Paige Backlund Jarquin her journey to her PhD started with a realization she wanted to work to improve the public health system. Now