Ep. 138: Dr. Malena Agyemang on Transferring from One PhD Program to Another & Finding Peace in Yoga
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering Clemson UniversityDr. Malena Agyemang
Today’s guest started out her college educational career in the field of chemistry, but when she was exposed to the lack of focus on non-traditional end users in the field of engineering, she decided to pursue a PhD which looked at how to improve the methodology of design. Dr. Malena Agyemang’s PhD journey had a few bumps in the road, and in today’s episode she explains the factors which pushed her to transfer from Arizona State to Clemson University. Malena discusses the positive impact that yoga has had on her life, and the goal behind her decision to do her yoga teacher training course. We end the episode with a key piece of advice from Malena which speaks to the personal struggles that she went through as a PhD student.
Connect with Dr. Malena Agyemang on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Key Points From This Episode:
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Malena shares how she likes to spend her time.
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What inspired the focus of Malena’s PhD.
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An internship which led Malena to the world of engineering.
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Reasons that Malena left her original PhD program, and why she applied to Clemson.
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How Malena managed the transition from one STEM field to another.
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Jobs Malena had during her first few years at Clemson.
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Ways that Malena found community when she moved to Clemson.
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How yoga has impacted Malena’s life.
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Why Malena did her yoga teacher training, and her teaching experience so far.
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Malena’s first postdoc position, and why she is moving to Carnegie Mellon.
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A profound piece of advice from Malena for any prospective or current PhD students.
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