Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

September 10, 2025

Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

On August 31, 2025, 59 students received a master’s degree or PhD from Brandeis. Years of hard work paid off for these students as they completed their degrees and prepared to head out into the world beyond grad school. We talked to some of our August graduates about their favorite memories of Brandeis, their future plans, and what advice they have for other graduate students.

Mina Cho graduated with her PhD in Musicology; her dissertation focused on a pansori (a tradition Korean music style) composition by Dongjin Park which integrates Christian theology. Reflecting on her experiences at Brandeis, she said, “One of my most meaningful moments at Brandeis was realizing how all the different paths in my life finally connected. I was classically trained as a pianist, deeply loved gospel music, studied theology at Yonsei University in Korea, and explored many musical directions in the U.S. – jazz, film scoring, and musicology – through my studies at Berklee, New England Conservatory (BM, MM, DMA), and now Brandeis. For a long time, I struggled to see how these diverse interests fit together. When I took Professor Eric Chafe’s seminar on Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, I was inspired to explore Korean pansori master Dongjin Park’s passion work and also create my own music. All of my seminars, from early music to Wagner, expanded my perspective and encouraged me to develop a creative methodology for my dissertation. Brandeis truly felt like the place where everything came together.” Now that she has completed her PhD, Cho plans to apply for a post-doc and to continue her research into pansori; she also looks forward to attending Commencement in May to celebrate. To other graduate students, she says, “Everything is connected. Nothing is wasted. Keep going and trust the journey.”

Jing Huang graduated with her PhD in Sociology; her dissertation focused on consumer culture in small-town China. Huang praised Brandeis’s intellectual atmosphere, saying, “Faculty genuinely invite big, sometimes messy questions,” and offered her thanks to her advisor Laura Miller, committee members Gowri Vijayakumar, Michael Nooy-Strand, and Amy Hanser, and the Sociology department as a whole. Of her time at Brandeis, she said, “I carry so many fond memories: the Sociology Department’s annual welcoming party at Solea restaurant, the lively colloquium series where I met inspiring intellectuals, courses that brought the world to the classroom, consortium classes at MIT, and long reflective walks along the Charles River. I also deeply valued conversations with professors during office hours, where I often found both intellectual clarity and encouragement. Equally memorable was my experience as a TA, leading discussions and giving lectures about China, moments that allowed me to teach, learn from, and get to know undergraduate students. And of course, I will never forget the simple pleasures of exploring the restaurants and stores on Moody Street with friends.” Huang plans to apply for post-docs and turn her dissertation into a book.

Kanaya Malakar graduated with her PhD in Physics; her dissertation focused on minimalist models inspired by biological solids. Malakar enjoyed Brandeis’s close-knit community and the professional development opportunities for graduate students; for example, she had the chance to develop and teach her own undergraduate course. She also said, “The biggest shout-out goes to my advisor, Professor Bulbul Chakraborty, who helped me become an independent researcher. I cannot imagine a better relationship than the one I had with her. She led by example and set the standard high. Though it was sometimes a bit of a struggle to live up to it, in the end, it was quite fulfilling.” Malakar has begun a postdoctoral position at Rutgers and looks forward to attending Commencement next year to reunite with friends and colleagues. To other graduate students, she says, “It is important to keep our support system close. Be actively involved in your hobbies. Research happens at its own pace, and we have some help when it comes to research. But we are the only ones responsible for our mental health. Get involved in things that you enjoy. For me, it was my hobbies (painting, crocheting), which I sometimes brought to my office, to work on when I had some free time. My colleagues would often praise my artworks. And that uplifted my mood, which was quite helpful, especially when I was not feeling so good about my research.”

Daniel Ruggles graduated with his PhD in Politics; his dissertation focused on the ways American conservatives mobilized young people from 1960 to 1980. He said, “My favorite memories came from building community through sharing work. This made solitary tasks like writing much more bearable, and it was great to get regular feedback and accountability.” Ruggles also offered advice on career development and planning to current students. He said, “Probably my biggest piece of advice would be to start working on multiple projects at once early on. Try to invest in side projects that move you forward toward career goals (academic and non-academic) while making sure that you're hitting milestones to progress toward your degree. I would recommend checking in with career services at Brandeis and building some off-campus connections during your second and third year to start thinking about how you can use this time wisely.” He added, “You should enjoy your work! If you generally don't, that's a good sign that something is off. It's okay to reassess your goals and think about how your skills, approach, and interests fit with the realities of the job training of a PhD. I promise that once you give yourself time and permission to reimagine your future you will have a lot more peace about your path forward – in academia or otherwise.”

Crístian Sharma graduated with his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics; his dissertation focused on models for testing hypotheses in molecular evolution. He said, “Some of my favorite memories at Brandeis are definitely associated with the BCBP retreat in Provincetown and particularly the drag karaoke night that would always happen. I'd like to give a special shout out to Anna Miamis and all the office people who made sure I was always aware of deadlines coming up, opportunities that might be a good fit for me, and, of course, helping me figure out who I might have to email for certain admin things if it wasn't her!” Sharma is joining his father’s biotech company in California and is excited to use his protein biochemistry skills there. He advised other graduate students “to remember that this is your job and not just your training. Grad school is a very unique job that expects you to fail, and the only thing wrong with failing is choosing to use it as an excuse to give up rather than another opportunity to learn. I learned almost everything during grad school from failing, not from succeeding. So don't sweat too much about your failing experiments, stay on top of your deadlines, and, if something just doesn't seem to be working for you, remember that time away from the lab to do something fun or just decompress might just be the thing your experiment is missing. And if that doesn't seem to fix it – well, maybe an extra offering to the lab gremlins wouldn't hurt.”

The Office of Graduate Affairs extends our warmest congratulations to all our graduates. We can’t wait to see what you will do next!