Master Stütz! (in a thick German accent)

I am proud to announce that I am officially Christina A. Stuetz, MA! Monday I defended my thesis and have successfully fulfilled all of my requirements for my Masters. This makes me the 4th Master Stütz and probably not the last (although one Master Stütz has subsequently become Master Thompson). I'm not going to lie, I was not looking forward to giving this presentation and doing an oral defense; in fact, I had been dreading it since the day I decided to attend the University of Minnesota (as it was one of the 2 schools I applied to that required a thesis). School doesn't usually stress me out or get me worried -- but I was definitely in stress mode Monday morning, as I hadn't really prepared at all for my presentation until that morning. I am happy to report that the experience was relatively painless. If I had known it was going to be so easy I wouldn't have put it off for so long. -- As Sandman put it last summer, "Christina, the best thesis is a done thesis." What words of wisdom! -- I gave my little presentation for about 10 minutes, then sat down with my 3 committee members. They spent the next twenty-five minutes talking about different questions they could answer with the data I collected and how it would be really interesting to do further research on the topic. I felt like I was just sitting in on their discussion of my data and research, rather than being grilled. They didn't ask me anything about my statistical methods or any specifics about my sources (thank goodness!). Everything they asked was related to school application and how different factors may have impacted the results. After they finished discussing how interesting my results were, I was asked to leave the room so they could vote on whether I passed. I figured I had passed because they didn't correct anything in my study and seemed genuinely interested in it. After 2 minutes out in the hall, they called me back in and told me how clear and well-written my thesis was. They also told me that I presented myself well and it was obvious I knew my information. And that was it, I passed! Since the thesis wasn't so bad, maybe a dissertation wouldn't be too bad either -- just kidding!

All-in-all my Minnesota trip was a success! Sandman and Spencer were in town for a conference so I got to hang out with Spenc on Saturday. It was really nice to be able to see them. I am glad I got the chance to show him around my Minnesota. What a great weekend: I passed my thesis, spent time with my amazing friends, saw old friends, celebrated an engagement, and watched the gophers play some mean hockey!