Brainy Beautiful Scientists

[brainybeautifulscientists-blog]

Several months ago an article appeared in the Huffington Post, claiming we should ban weddings and baby showers.  I disagree.  I love cake.  And, having been raised in a large Irish Catholic family, I think a new family member is always cause for celebration.  However, the article does make the excellent point that as a society, we don't do enough to celebrate the professional accomplishments of women.  Regardless of whether a woman decides to marry or have children, these professional accomplishments often require a tremendous amount of work (frequently requiring going against society's grain).

We often hear, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  Well, I recently achieved a major professional milestone; I finished my PhD in Genetics through Harvard's BBS Program.  And I wanted to celebrate.

So I spoke to some colleagues about what would be an appropriate celebration.

And decided to start off by going to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

I received many heartfelt offers of congratulations.

But that didn't seem like enough.  It did, after all, cost $171 to rent the robes.  So I met up with my friends Jess and Alison.  Jess also recently received her PhD through BBS. As did Alison, but she graduated a few years ago and agreed to be our photographer.  

We met up at the Mass Ave Bridge to check out some of the great views of Boston.

Newly minted Harvard PhDs? Or Gryffindor's newest bludgers?

(We decided if any children asked why we had the outfits on, we'd tell them we were in town for the Quidditch World Cup.)

Then we decided to go down to the Esplanade and play in the park like the mature, confident women we are.

It was pretty hot outside, so dipping our feet in the Charles felt great.

Jess wanted a turn behind the camera, so poor Alison got a break.

It was time to leave the Esplanade- we decided to venture our way over to Boylston.  On the way we saw some of Boston's many statues, but one memorial was particularly special- the Boston Women's Memorial (after all we were out celebrating women's achievements).  So we posed with our ladies Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley.

And we moved on to Boylston.

They say finishing a PhD is a bit like finishing a marathon...

Since we were right at the Boston Public Library, we decided to take a reading break.

And get a picture of the great architecture.

From there, it was a short walk over to the Public Garden.

Make way for Doctors!

Then just a quick bike ride over to the Common.

Where we rode the carousel and were spotted by a professional photographer (Thanks Jim Canole!)

Why is there no lady-term equivalent of bromance?

Sadly, there is not enough space here for all the amazing pictures from that 3-minute ride.

Those tams get a bit hot to wear after awhile, so it was time to switch hats.

And head over to see some of Boston's historical landmarks.

We ended the day at Scholars, which we thought was appropriate, with a drink and a game of pool.

All in all, it was a great way to celebrate our PhDs, so we headed home on the T.

We had an amazing time celebrating our professional accomplishments, and we hope you take the initiative to do the same.

Caitlin and Jess

P.S.  A huge thank you to our main photographer Alison

With a shout out to my (Caitlin's) sister Eileen.

And Jim Canole for the carousel pics.