Pass with Distinction

Korrin B.

May 21, 2011 - 9:00 PM

Yesterday, something amazing happened. I finally completed my thesis defense! It was such an incredible feeling to finally be done with it. The entire morning, I was running on adrenaline and when my presentation and question session were over I felt such a sense of relief. With all of the adrenaline leaving my body, I must admit that part of my celebration involved simply taking a nap.

I was lucky to have my BFF, Kate, in town from Boston for my defense. She helped me set up my computer in the morning and cut up some muffins to give to my audience. She also attended what I called my "mock thesis defense" the night before. I spent the entire week perfecting my PowerPoint presentation and practicing what I wanted to say in front of my mirror. It was quite the task fitting a 116-page document into twenty minutes of talking. I needed to be very detailed, but also very succinct. I finally managed to get it down to about 25 minutes. Anyway, I was pretty nervous for my defense, as I don't think of public speaking as my forte, so I wanted the chance to work out some of my jitters in front of actual people. I managed to round up four friends and then reserved a room in the library to practice my presentation. The way I saw it was that if I could manage to give my presentation in front of my peers, then I could do it in front of my thesis committee. Nothing is more terrifying to me than having to act serious and present in front of complete friends. It went really well and I managed to fight off my urge to just start laughing every time I made eye contact with my friends. They gave me some great feedback as well and Kate even spotted a tiny typo on one of my slides.

My "mock" must have helped because my actual defense presentation went quite smoothly. All of the practice certainly paid off. I only caught myself saying "um" a few times and managed to remember everything that I wanted to say without really looking at notes. I had a good little audience, as well. It was nice to talk about my research because I felt like it really hit a cord with my committee and audience. The question section of my defense ended up seeming more like a discussion.

Finally, it was time to leave the room while my committee deliberated. When I was invited back in, they informed me that I had passed with distinction, which is the highest level you can get for an Honors College thesis. They also provided me with some great feedback and a couple of revisions before I print my final draft. I must admit that those words that I had "passed with distinction" could not have sounded any better. After putting so much work and time into this project over the past year, it felt incredible to be given that recognition that I had done a good job.

However, I think that no matter what the outcome of my defense, I would have been happy because of the extent to which my research has actually had the opportunity to create meaning in the community. Right before my defense, I ran into an individual I had shared my project with during the Undergraduate Research Symposium. This person informed me that after seeing my project, they were able to get assistance through the program I studied and now they and their daughter have a place to live. To me, that is worth more than anything because true education should reach beyond the campus walls and make an impact for the community.