MCAA Avenue

Yun Emily Wang is fascinated by sound. Her interest was originally rooted in the study of music, but has since broadened in scope to sounds of all kinds as they relate to social processes. In her 2012 Threesis presentation, Emily explored the connection between “noisy-hot” social sounds (“basically a dense soundscape of human social sounds: talking, walking, bargaining, etc.”) in the night markets of Taipei and “how these sounds are used to articulate my interlocutors’ versions of Taiwanese identity.” She decided to participate in the Threesis Challenge because, “it sounded kind of fun and certainly less stressful than giving a conference paper.” She found the interdisciplinary environment and challenge of conveying her research to a broad audience a rewarding experience that taught her valuable skills. These skills have carried on in the years since the competition. “The Threesis was a low-stress but high-reward experience, and I think it continues to be–I am probably waxing poetic here, but I think the challenge of explaining a complex project succinctly and in relatable ways continues long after the Threesis event has concluded. I’ve had to tap into these skills, which I only started thinking about developing for the Threesis, every time I apply for a grant, ask a fieldwork interlocutor for an interview, or see my family.”

Currently, Emily studies at the University of Toronto as a PhD student in ethnomusicology. Her current research “explores the roles of sound music in the everyday homemaking processes among Chinese diaspora in Toronto.” In addition to her work within Toronto, she will be traveling to Taiwan for three months this summer on the Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement grant. Her advice to future Threesis competitors? “Have fun. Literally tell your three minutes to your grandma. If you can’t squeeze everything in three minutes, it’s probably because you don’t understand your project enough, and not because your project is impossibly complex.”

When Sara Storer joined the Graduate School to pursue an M.S. in biology, she hoped to leverage her degree into an acceptance to dental school. Her hopes and hard work have come to fruition. Today Sara is pursuing a doctorate in dental medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Along with her master’s concentration in oral biology, she credits her participation in the 2014 Threesis Challenge, in which she was a finalist for her presentation on dental implants, with helping her during the dental school application process—and beyond. “The Threesis helped me to come up with a really accessible and simple explanation of my research, which was crucial during dental school interviews. I also was fortunate to research a topic that was really relevant to dentistry, so some topics that I learned about are giving me an edge up in my classes now.”

Sara just returned from a mission to Ecuador with the Dental Community Fellowship to, in her words,”set up a clinic for five days and treat a variety of different dental problems, and also provide education in oral hygiene and preventative care to children….It was a great chance to take a step back from the day-to-day stress of dental school and to remember why I go into this field—to help others by improving their health and smiles.” In addition to her volunteer work and rigorous studies, the former Secretary for the Master’s College Program Board carries on the GSAS spirit as the head of the South Carolina chapter of the MCAA. Though dental school can be challenging, Sara is grateful for the experience and the opportunity. “I am so fortunate to be living out my dream.”

Kasey Hemphill is a force of ambition by any stretch of the imagination. Her success story begins at NYU, where she completed both her B.A. (2011) and her M.A. (2012) in politics through the B.A./M.A. program between College of Arts and Science and GSAS. At first motivated by witnessing the power of voting in the Bush v. Gore presidential election of 2000, Kasey chose to study the theory and psychology of politics, topics she appreciated because they allowed her to feel engaged with history. After graduation, Kasey found herself working on the admissions team at the national headquarters of Teach for America, where she learned about the organization’s selection model and core values of teaching. Later, she implemented those values in her own classroom in Las Vegas. “I felt informed by the coursework from my B.A./M.A.,” she recalls. “Studying politics but working in the education sector helped me understand the different layers and internal dialogue of people who worked in the organization.” The job didn’t come without its challenges, though. After experiencing a particularly distressing situation with the family of one of her students whose brother was shot and killed due to gang violence, Kasey observed the issues present in under-served areas that critically affected the lives of victims of this violence. While she valued the impact of being a teacher to these students, she also began to realize the impact she could have as a legal advocate for them and their families outside of the classroom. Thus, she applied and was admitted to NYU Law School, where she currently studies.

As she looks back on her past experiences, she sees how her time in the B.A./M.A. program really prepared her to think about the role she wants to play as a professional. Recalling her Threesis experience of 2012, where she made it to the final rounds, Kasey explains, “I was initially attracted to it because I did speech and debate in high school…but doing the Threesis taught me how to present a topic that I am personally connected to, to an audience that may not be, and how to speak to their interest by speaking the language of humanity…that’s something I will keep in mind when I practice law, whether at a law firm or in courtroom litigation.” As she looks ahead toward her future goals, Kasey also hopes to mentor current students participating in the Threesis. Her best words of advice? “Anticipate questions. Dare to ask yourself questions you’d be afraid to answer. It’s so relevant—it even came up in an assignment I did today in class. Think about what you are passionate about and what you want people to focus on.”

As the first place winner of the second annual Threesis Challenge and John W. Draper alum, Chris Cappelluti has volumes to speak on his experiences at GSAS and the Master’s College. Chris first participated in the Threesis Challenge in its inaugural year. At the time, he was President of the GSAS Master’s College Program Board and pursuing his M.A. in humanities and social thought, which he said gave him the freedom to explore the subjects that interested him from a scholarly perspective. Building on that foundation, he participated in the Threesis again the following year and won the grand prize for his presentation, “The Dual Ulysses Tradition.”

Now, Chris works at the Expository Writing Program at NYU while also pursing his M.F.A. at Brooklyn College. When asked about his experience in the Threesis Challenge, he explained, “The first year, I only made it to the qualifying rounds; but that was valuable because the experience resembled that of job interviews, and prepared me for the real world in that sense. The next year I was actually a finalist, which I couldn’t believe at the time. I almost couldn’t bring myself to do my presentation,” he confessed. But the supportive atmosphere and energetic leadership of the Threesis encouraged him to “just go out there and say what I had to say. And I did. And now I know that if I can stand up in front of more than a hundred people and explain to them something I had studied all year, then I can give a lesson or deliver a lecture to a group of fifteen freshman when I teach a writing class with confidence. A big part of Threesis is learning how to be prepared. I’m confident that I am prepared to lead a class with certainty.” As he looks forward to teaching, Chris is also working on a novel, Babylon Fading (working title).

Read some of Chris’ work here.