Thesis Update and Reasons My Thesis Advisor Is the Best

So I'm knee deep in thesis research currently.

My bookshelves are filled with biographies on Mary Robinson and volumes of her poetry. She always seems to be a constant presence in my life, even if I'm not directly working on my thesis. I find myself thinking about her life and ways that I can write an argumentative 30-50 page paper this upcoming school year.

While that seems to be a daunting task, I'm lucky enough to have a great support team to back me up. My biggest supporter is my thesis advisor, Melissa Sodeman.

Melissa and I go way back. Aka the fall semester of my sophomore year. I had History of English Literature (HEL) with her. It was an amazing class and started me on a year and a half run with Melissa as a professor. I took her Literary Analysis class my sophomore spring year and then 18th Century Literature (the rise of the modern novel) the fall of my junior year. Melissa is a specialist British Romanticism (18th and 19th century) and therefore, a perfect advisor for Mary Robinson. I also found out that Melissa wrote her dissertation on Mary Robinson so that's a fun fact. Melissa is excited that I want to focus on Robinson's poetry because Melissa was more focused on Robinson's novels (which weren't nearly as good or strong as her poetry).

Melissa and I have had a couple of meetings so far. It's great to talk about Robinson who knows her so well and is interested in her life. We bounce around potential focused topics and Melissa gives good advice on what to read and look for next.

The other neat thing that makes Melissa the neatest advisor is that she invited myself, Julia (a fellow English major), and Millie (my roommate) to dinner. The three of us rode together and grabbed some flowers at HyVee. Melissa made us a delicious dinner and it was fun to have time with Melissa in a non-classroom setting. Just another reason I find the professors at Coe to be top-notch.

Well, I better get back to research. My plan is to have an outline and rough, focused thesis by August. Wish me luck!