Posts by Ebony Reddock

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Posts by Ebony Reddock

What’s Next: So Many Things to Study, So Little Time

May 2, 2012 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

I’ve been sketching ideas for my first research lab in this easy-to-carry notebook since 2007. The fact that my time here is quickly ending truly hit me a couple of weeks ago when, out of all things, I e-mailed my department’s administrator with a simple question. I needed to confirm the last day of my fellowship, and my health insurance, so I could switch to my husband’s insurance carrier until I begin my postdoctoral position. After I sent it, I experienced a deep sense of amazement. When I first began, five years seemed like such a long period of time,…

Published in: Student Voices

What About U-M Made You Come Here?: “How Long Have You Been Here!?”

March 1, 2012 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

I enjoy August and September in Ann Arbor, and the opportunity to meet the new rush of new grad students ready to research something and make their marks on the scholarly world. Campus events around this time are full of introductions, with people eager to share with others where they left behind. When I am asked how long I have been here, I love to amuse myself and tell them the truth: “I’ve been a student here since 1997.” This is due to my ingrained love of tricking people, which I inherited from my mother. When I say “1997” I…

Published in: Student Voices

Winter Activities: “Sled-ding”

January 31, 2012 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

Huron Hills Golf Course One of the best things about Ann Arbor for families is that there are many options for kids’ winter activities. Whether you like skating, skiing or activities of the indoor variety, like taking the kids to Jungle Java to run in circles while you read, there’s something out there. My son and I took advantage many times of activities when we lived in Ann Arbor proper. Every weekend we would go solo or meet up with our playdate couple—a girlfriend and her son—for fun outside, indoors or a special event we had looked up in Ann…

Published in: Student Voices

What to Do When the Bar’s Off-Limits: Balancing Faith and Grad School

December 12, 2011 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

For this month’s blog entry, I wanted to write about my experience of balancing faith and grad school. While it’s not the most talked about issue on campus, there are many students who embrace different faith practices and make them a central part of their everyday lives. And while it can be difficult navigating grad school while doing so, I have found that embracing and walking in faith has been the most critical element in having a positive grad school experience. Since starting my program four years ago, I have become a more devout Christian. I no longer drink, smoke,…

Published in: Student Voices

Faculty Connections: Mind Your (Academic) Parents!

November 15, 2011 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

For me, the relationship with my faculty advisors as a grad student has been like the relationship with one’s parents when one is young. They try to guide me in becoming an independent scholar, but I just want to hurry and get out of the academic house. Earlier in my training, I would respond by doing what I wanted to do. “Don’t do this study until you have the resources to do it,” they’d say. “Okay, okay, but blah, blah, blah,” I would respond. After years of reaping very little, I began to realize that maybe, just maybe, they know…

Published in: Student Voices

Balance: Going with the Ebb and Flow

October 19, 2011 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

As a wife, mother and student, one of the most common questions I get in reference to school is, “How do you juggle work and life?” I suppose that it’s apparent that my life is particularly hard to ignore, especially when it’s asking for chicken nuggets or date night, and even when you’re desperately trying to finish a manuscript draft so you can stop making trips to the bathroom when you see your advisor approach your office. Thus, it is an issue I continually assess. I’d like to say, “I consistently keep a very tight schedule in which I write…

Published in: Student Voices

Meet the Bloggers: Ebony Reddock

September 20, 2011 | By Ebony Reddock, Ph.D. Student, Health Behavior and Health Education

My name is Ebony Reddock. I am 32. If you had told me at 22 that I would be where I am today, I would have laughed at you. But here I am—wife, mother of two and scholar. When I started the Ph.D. program, after completing both my B.A. and M.P.H. here, I had a desire to learn more about how and why African American mothers teach their kids about health. I was the daughter of a single mother, and myself a single mother of a son. Many people around me did not quite understand why I would choose to…

Published in: Student Voices

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