Professor Mikulski is currently a PhD student at Stony Brook University. Researching topics such as James Joyce and Modernism while teaching multiple courses for Stony Brook Students.
What led you to go for doctoral studies?
I started on my undergrad as a physics major at UC Santa Barbara in California and before I went to college, I worked some summers in a physics lab. It was with my friend’s dad, he was a professor at UC Riverside, and I always looked up to him. I had this very idealistic view of maybe I should go along a similar academic path and become a professor too, do my PhD. That idea of having a profession that embodies doing what you love and you never have to work a day in your life. I started out in physics, and I said, no, I don’t think it’s physics for me, I think it’s English. I switched to English my second year of college, and I got pretty invested in going to graduate school pretty right away.
What drew you to Stony Brook?
The first thing that I found very appealing about it was, you know, I’m from California, so I had never been out here to New York, to New York City or to Long Island. Part of the appeal to me was the location, the amenities, and all the things being close to New York City can provide you. You can take classes in other universities nearby through the Inter Consortium, so you can take classes at Columbia, Rutgers, CUNY, or wherever. But for me, the first thing I thought of was the proximity to New York City as a cultural place, to go to museums and experience city life. The other thing was the faculty aligned with my research interests. When I first applied, I was interested in working with Celia Marshik, who’s the dean of the graduate school now, and Mike Rubenstein, who’s really into James Joyce, which was my obsession. That’s really why you choose to go to places you know? Your research aligns with the faculty and you think you can write a good project with them.
What has your time in the English program been like? Has it changed since you first started?
My path here at Stony Brook has been kind of circuitous in that I started in fall of 2020, which was when COVID was still very much in effect. I moved out here from California and lived in Queens, even though class was on Zoom. Because of COVID and remote learning, I didn’t get the most immersive graduate school experience, especially socially. I took a leave for about a year, and then decided not to come back and extend my leave further. A year and a half went by, and I came back for real in fall 2022 when everything was back in person. Since then, it’s been much better. It’s been great to see how different professors teach and to teach my own courses for the last three semesters. The coursework has been very stimulating and engaging. Every faculty member is very amiable and ready to help you with whatever you need. Even if you just took a course with them, you can still have this connection where you keep in touch and go to them for guidance. I’ve also had the freedom to explore my own interests.
What has your experience been like teaching?
It’s been great. I’m glad I wasn’t thrown right into teaching. At some universities, like my undergrad institution, graduate students don’t usually get to be instructors of record, they teach discussion sections for bigger lectures. Stony Brook is very generous in giving PhD students many opportunities to teach, which is great for later applying for jobs. TAing was a good first start to see how different professors teach. When I first taught English 130 a year ago, it was really fun for me because the course catered to my interests — literature, science, and technology. I taught it again over the summer and in the fall with slight alterations. Now I’m teaching World Literature (English 112, Modern World Literature), and it’s been a lot of fun. I have the freedom to design my own course, put the things I want on the syllabus, things I think will be good for students and spark discussion. The freedom to design the curriculum has been great.