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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for all students at the 糖心传媒, including more than 4,700 graduate students who are studying, working, and researching remotely this semester from the University糖心传媒檚 seven schools: the and the

They come from 97 countries, all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Most are in doctoral or master糖心传媒檚 programs, while 280 will receive graduate certificates. They糖心传媒檙e tomorrow糖心传媒檚 musicians, engineers, doctors and nurses, scientists, humanists, entrepreneurs, and teachers.

We first reached out to a group of eight graduate students earlier this year, with the idea of highlighting their lives as scholars and members of the University community. We caught up with them this month to see how their work and lives had been affected by remote learning and working guidelines put in place this spring.

Zekai Chen

School of Arts & Sciences

Zekai Chen arrived at the University in 2015 after receiving a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in electronics and information science from Peking University in his hometown of Beijing, China. He hopes to earn his doctorate in 2022.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e been here a long time and learned a lot,糖心传媒� Chen says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e learned how to perform research and have been given maximum freedom and independence to study problems I糖心传媒檓 interested in.糖心传媒�

That independence has come in handy since the University went to distance learning in March. Chen is normally based in the Bausch & Lomb Hall lab of Nicholas Bigelow, the Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics. Chen works with ultracold atomic gases such as Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), and his current research focus is using multiple lasers to create the artificial gauge potential and study the behavior of BEC in those potentials.

糖心传媒淪ince I糖心传媒檓 currently doing theoretical calculations, I can work from home,糖心传媒� says Chen, who has remained in Rochester. His career goal is 糖心传媒渢eaching and performing research at a University like Rochester.糖心传媒�

Gabrielle Cornish 糖心传媒�13E, 糖心传媒�16# (MA)

Eastman School of Music

The Elmira, New York, native is a doctoral student in musicology, on track to receive her degree in May. Her research broadly considers music, sound, and everyday life in the Soviet Union from 1956 to 1975, tracing the intersections between music, technology, and the politics of social modernity after Stalinism.

During her time away from the Eastman campus, she has defended her dissertation via Zoom, was hired as an assistant professor of musicology at the University of Miami糖心传媒檚 Frost School of Music (she starts this fall) and has supported friends who are teaching remotely. The classically trained percussionist also spends hours in her Rochester apartment playing guitar, as well as balalaika糖心传媒攁 lute-like stringed instrument native to late 18th-and early 19th-entury Russia糖心传媒攁nd theremin糖心传媒攐ne of the earliest electronic instruments, invented in Russia in 1919. 糖心传媒淎nd like many other anxious millennials these days,糖心传媒� she adds, 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e started stress-baking bread.糖心传媒�

Cornish majored in both music and Russian studies as an undergraduate in the College, completed a Fulbright US Student Grant in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and began her doctoral studies at Eastman in 2014.

Daniela Figoli

Simon Business School

The native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will graduate in May with an MBA in strategy and pricing. Her classes糖心传媒攁nd her job at Simon糖心传媒檚 Career Management Center糖心传媒攁re conducted through Zoom. In her job, she advises fellow graduate students on their job search, networking and interview skills, and resume writing.

糖心传媒淥ur professors have really adjusted to this new environment,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been a learning experience. But even though I prefer presentational classes, I feel I糖心传媒檓 getting the same benefits regarding my learning experience, and Simon has done a very good job transitioning into a virtual world. We still have happy hours, coffee hours, and other activities. I糖心传媒檓 even giving volunteer yoga Zoom classes!糖心传媒�

Figoli received her undergraduate degree in industrial pharmacy at the University of Buenos Aires, two miles from home. She chose Simon糖心传媒�5,500 miles from home糖心传媒攖o improve her analytical skills, acquire business acumen, and pursue her MBA. She hopes to leverage her understanding of customers糖心传媒� needs to develop market-driven solutions that improve people糖心传媒檚 lives.

Jamey Keeton

School of Arts & Sciences

The first-year doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies program is focused on comics studies, with research interests that include film, television, animation, and popular culture.

The San Diego State graduate has long enjoyed comic books (his favorite era is the 1980s and 糖心传媒�90s) and cohosted a podcast on the subject a few years ago.

Keeton remains in Rochester but finds remote learning a challenge. 糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 enjoy working at home because I become distracted very easily,糖心传媒� the San Diego native says. 糖心传媒淚 had a job lined up this summer but it evaporated (when businesses in New York closed).” He has tried to make the best of this new life, 糖心传媒渃ooking a lot, reading, playing video games, and watching all sorts of things on TV.糖心传媒�

A Marines infantryman who toured the world from 2007 to 2011, Keeton is taking classes through Zoom. His career goal is to work as a tenured professor at a university.

David Lent

School of Nursing

Lent, who is from Penn Yan, New York, will earn his doctor of nursing practice degree in May and is outcomes manager for adult critical care nursing at the Medical Center. His ultimate goal is to lead a nurse innovations lab and work with nurses to develop more efficient strategies to assist patents.

糖心传媒淭he pandemic has presented the ideal opportunity for me to apply every bit of my academic, clinical, and systems thinking to prepare our ICU response,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 literally the culmination of all my training coming to a head.糖心传媒�

Since defending his doctoral project in March, Lent has worked 60 to 70 hours per week alongside nursing, physician, and hospital leadership to prepare for the predicted surge in cases. 糖心传媒淓veryone is stepping up their game, and we are working together like never before,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淭his is truly the year of the nurse.糖心传媒�

Lent entered the School of Nursing in 2010. He earned a master of science degree in health care systems management and leadership (2012), a bachelor of science degree in nursing (2014), and a post-masters certificate as a clinical nurse leader (2017).

Alex Milliken

School of Medicine and Dentistry

Milliken is a third-year pharmacology student from Hilton, a suburb of Rochester. Since research is on pause at the University, he has kept busy by preparing a manuscript for publication, analyzing data, and writing a grant for a predoctoral fellowship. He also added a golden retriever puppy named Sophie to his home. 糖心传媒淭his is perfect timing to take care of her, being home so much,糖心传媒� he says.

After receiving undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology at Wells College in Aurora, New York, Milliken came home to explore his passions糖心传媒攎itochondria and metabolism. 糖心传媒淭he University has a very strong mitochondria research group,糖心传媒� he says.

Losing his grandfather and a close friend to cardiac-related deaths sparked his passion for understanding the role of mitochondria in cardiovascular disease.

He糖心传媒檚 a member of principal investigator Paul Brookes糖心传媒� lab, which focuses on the underlying molecular and metabolic mechanisms of heart attacks. His research focuses on how an acidic pH can minimize cardiac tissue damage after a heart attack.

Milliken hopes for a career 糖心传媒渇ully immersed糖心传媒� in research dealing with mitochondria biology, metabolism, and exercise.

Tara Pe帽a

Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

A third-year doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pe帽a works with professor Stephen Wu in the areas of nanoelectronics, spintronics, and quantum electronics. The first-generation student from Queens, New York, was awarded a Provost糖心传媒檚 Fellowship by the University.

Since the campus shut down in March, the lab has moved entirely to data analysis and literature review, and members use Zoom for regular meetings. Pe帽a糖心传媒檚 siblings have moved in with her due to the severity of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City.

She received her undergraduate degree in physics from Adelphi University on Long Island and came to Rochester in 2017. 糖心传媒淚 chose Rochester because of its strong collaboration between its electrical and computer engineering and physics departments糖心传媒攁nd for the chance to work with Professor Wu,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been awesome.糖心传媒�

Pe帽a糖心传媒檚 research focus is in “developing strain-based nanoelectronics with transition metal dichalcogenides”. Her career goal is to facilitate her own research group.

Michael Skyer

Warner School of Education

Skyer is a PhD candidate in the Teaching, Curriculum, and Change discipline at Warner, where he has studied since 2012. His work aims to resolve structural problems in deaf education and focuses on the value systems surrounding visual and multimodal pedagogies used in teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

The Rochester native majored in studio arts at Rochester Institute of Technology, then trained to be a deaf educator at RIT糖心传媒檚 National Technical Institute for the Deaf. In the MSSE program, he earned a master糖心传媒檚 degree in secondary education for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. After several years teaching in K-12 deaf education, he聽joined NTID’s faculty in聽2011糖心传媒攔ising from adjunct to senior lecturer.

糖心传媒淏ecause of my full-time duties, I糖心传媒檓 in the half-time plan at Warner,糖心传媒� Skyer says.

Skyer brought home a supply of textbooks, papers, and dissertation data, which he is analyzing with qualitative coding procedures to find patterns in and across data sources such as interviews, teaching documents, and stimulated recall. His NTID classes are now taught remotely, and he created a document called the 糖心传媒淧ost-COVID-19 Syllabus Amendment,糖心传媒� which streamlines ways in which his graduate students earn participation credit with digital media.

糖心传媒淲hile teaching with digital tools is fascinating, I miss face-to-face interactions with students and colleagues,糖心传媒� says Skyer, who hopes to earn his doctorate in 2021.

Graduate students by the numbers

There are 4,768 students in graduate programs at the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 seven schools.

280 are pursuing graduate certificates

1,947 are in doctoral programs

2,541 are pursuing master糖心传媒檚 degrees

They come from 97 countries (led by China with 1,284) and all 50 states (led by New York with 1,687), plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

The leading master糖心传媒檚 field by enrollment is finance, with 341 students. The top doctoral programs are performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music (108), optics (98), and physics (97).

Age has no boundary among graduate students: 3,022 are 29 and under, and 29 students are between 60 and 74.