Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

November 4, 2024

Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Geeking Out With…is a feature in which we talk to GSAS students about their passions. You can check out past installments here.

Abichael Belizaire is a first-year PhD student in Chemistry. He plans to research how the properties of quantum dots change when they are in solution, especially if they display “blinking.” He joined Geeking Out With… to discuss his quest to find hobbies that help him maintain work-life balance.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

What made you begin this quest to find new hobbies?

A lot of it came from the advice of my PI and the postdocs in the lab. In middle school, high school, and college, I was super focused on school and didn’t have time for much else. However, I’ve been advised that graduate school is a marathon, not a sprint, and that hobbies will help keep me sane. My PI, Katherine Shulenberger, is very big on work-life balance and keeping yourself up as a person, and the postdocs in my lab also demonstrate this. So I thought “These people know a lot more than I do – I should take their advice!” I am looking for things that I can do when I go home and am done with work for the day. I have been listening to what others in the lab do for hobbies and deciding whether I would like to do those things.

What hobbies have you tried so far?

I have knitted in the past, and since it’s getting colder, I might pick that up again. I have knitted scarves, which are the generic first thing that everyone knits, and then last year I knitted a hat because I was trying to get back into it. While I haven’t gotten good enough to do this yet, I long to make a really comfy sweater and wear it to campus. Then, when someone asks where I got it, I can say, “Oh…myself!”

I’m also trying to read more and play video games, and I want to practice music. I took a couple of piano classes in high school and college, so I have the foundation, although I wouldn’t really describe myself as a piano player. I used to listen to classical piano music like “Clair de Lune” when I was stressed out, so I want to get to the point where I can play it myself in those situations. There are times when I think I can totally do this and times when it hurts my ego and I want to give up music!

Over the summer, I did a lot of gardening and grew a huge cucumber. I am also trying to cook more, and one of my goals is to cook something from every country around the world. The big challenge is having the energy to do it and getting the ingredients. But so far, so good!

You’ve tried a lot of different hobbies! Do you hope to find one or two to focus on or to keep doing lots of different things?

I’m hoping to have two or three hobbies that I can do, depending on the time of year and my mood. For example, if I come home and am exhausted, I might not want to read or cook but just play some games. But if I have more energy, I would read, cook, or play music. Gardening and knitting feel more seasonal – as summer approaches, I’ll think about what to grow, and as winter approaches, I’ll think about what to knit. I want to have enough hobbies so that I’m not bored with any of them and have things to fill my time.

The hobbies you’ve described are all pretty individual ones. Are you thinking about trying any group hobbies?

Every now and then, I think about that – I’ve thought about getting into D&D. But I’m more of an introvert than I might let on at first! Since I spend time with people during the day at Brandeis, I don’t necessarily want to spend more time with people at the end of the day, even though I like them. The chemistry floor has Wednesday night volleyball, so I’d like to stay for that a couple of times a semester.

When did you start pursuing these different hobbies?

I started gardening when I was stuck at home during the pandemic, and I picked up knitting again in January of this year. I started everything else after I moved to start at Brandeis. I had more freedom since I had moved away from home, and I also saw how healthy the members of the lab are trying to be with their work-life balance. I want to take that seriously too. So far I’m really enjoying it!

You’ve mentioned how the others in your lab demonstrate healthy work-life balance. Can you share more about that?

Katie, my PI, seems to really value Saturdays as her time to be away from the lab. You can send her a message, but she’ll only answer if she gets the chance. You can tell how knowledgeable and capable she is when you talk to her, and she’s still able to say what her boundaries are and not focus on work 24/7. From talking to her, I thought that this was something I should do. In undergrad, I heard about PIs who expected people to be in the lab round the clock, which sounds like a nightmare, so it’s great to see someone who sets boundaries.

Our postdocs just finished grad school, so they are able to talk about their experiences and how they set their own work-life balance, as well as what they’re capable of and what works best for them. They are getting the work done but also talk about their hobbies and plans outside of work. And they are also super knowledgeable! I saw that if other people have a strong work-life balance and are succeeding in the field, I should try to do the same. Having an atmosphere that’s so caring but with reasonable expectations pushes me to see what I can do in my path as a graduate student and also as a person. I’m enjoying it and hope to pass that on at some point when I graduate.

Are you involved with any other activities at Brandeis?

I am involved in Talking Points, a weekly event open to all students. We have food, and students give talks about anything not related to their studies. One of the previous talks was about drama in the curling world, and another was about pipe organs and how they work. I’m hoping to give a talk too. This is a place where I want to be part of a bigger community including people in and out of STEM. In undergrad, I had the impression some non-STEM students thought STEM students thought we were better than others – it’s not like that at all! But there’s so much I don’t understand about life outside the sciences. I’d like to talk to people across disciplines. I want to learn about what other people do and what we can do together.

What advice do you have for other students exploring their passions?

Respect yourself and find people who respect you as well. Academia is one path I’d like to take, but I hear stories about people giving up themselves to get a chance to move ahead, because the path is very hard. Instead, respect yourself and create an environment where others can respect your time. Don’t back down on your boundaries.