A few months ago, Emma Hinkle was organizing her lab notebooks as she prepared to start a career. She had completed her graduate training, earned a PhD, and had a job lined up that started on Monday. In those few moments of quiet between her years of graduate school and the career to come, she reflected on the challenges she faced, and how they had changed her as a scientist and a person. “The five years I spent in grad school have definitely felt long, but as I reflect back on them I have grown so much as a person. I have learned how to deal with failure and get back up on my feet. I have learned how to keep going little by little,” she reflected. This week, we sit down with Dr. Hinkle to hear more about her path through grad school, which events challenged her resolve, and how she kept moving forward when times got tough. She discusses the anxiety of being a fourth-year, and not knowing how on earth you’ll ever get enough data to graduate. She shares her strategy for career development as a student, and why not everyone needs more first-author papers. Stay tuned for our next episode where she’ll discuss her new career and long-time dream of becoming a science writer! You can find her online @geneticginger