Emily Lawson
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I love the academic life, and I want to be a part of it for as long as I can be here. For better or worse, it feels like the life I was made for. Being able to spend my life reading, writing, learning and teaching is about the greatest privilege I could ask for. Graduate school is a happy time for me.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
Because a core component of my work is on Indian philosophy, my options were limited if I wanted to pursue the research questions that were most important to me. Few philosophy programs offered supervision in Indian philosophy when I applied, and the strongest of these in North America were UBC and the University of Toronto. I had a difficult time choosing between the two programs, but Vancouver's natural beauty and my connection with the scholars who are now my supervisors were an important draw to UBC. I'm very glad to live here.
What is it specifically, that your program offers, that attracted you?
Philosophy, as a discipline, tends to be parochial. The philosophy department at UBC, however, is a warm, inviting, energizing place. We have an unusually good gender balance, given disciplinary norms, and a strong commitment to teaching non-western philosophy.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
I live in Acadia Park on UBC Campus, and I love walking in Pacific Spirit Park every day. I can walk to the ocean. I see bald eagles, coyotes, seals and other wildlife almost every day, it seems. I thought I was moving to a big city, but I was happy to discover that I was wrong. Downtown is perfectly accessible from here, but I get to have a quiet life on the edge of the woods. This probably won't last, with UBC's race to build as many high-rises as possible, but for now, it's very special.
What aspect of your graduate program do you enjoy the most or are looking forward to with the greatest curiosity?
I'm entering my dissertation writing years, and I am excited about the freedom I will have to build a life around writing. I have to learn to trust myself more and more — scary, but necessary.
What aspects of your life or career before now have best prepared you for your UBC graduate program?
I have a background in creative writing, and I have been surprised by how well it has prepared me for serious academic writing. Both rely on inspiration, creativity and sensibility. You can have good or bad luck with respect to inspiration. But both also demand just doggedly showing up at your desk whether or not you feel you have anything to offer the work. The creative writing MFA, where your work is workshopped, also prepared me for the criticism and rejection that is an inevitable part of academic writing and publishing.
What do you like to do for fun or relaxation?
I love rafting, camping and hiking. On a more day-to-day basis, I'm finding that in addition to reading fiction and poetry, making things with my hands is a nice counterpoint to academic work: sewing, knitting, gardening, baking, etc. Because so much intellectual work is abstract, it feels good to make something tangible occasionally.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
It can be difficult to set boundaries around work — there is always something left undone. This advice can be surprisingly difficult to follow, but: take days off. Truly off. Set working hours and try not to work outside of them. (I am breaking this rule as I write this — it really is difficult.)