Melissa Shahbandeh

Say it in 6: "Personal Growth, Greater Recognition, Financial Reward." Melissa came to Florida State to pursue her PhD in Astrophysics due to the leading professors in that field who work at FSU. Melissa's philosophy is that "knowledge is power," and her research speaks to a very broad knowledge: her work seeks to help answer questions like "how did we get here?" and "how does the universe work?" Melissa is enjoying her time as a doctoral student at Florida State, where she finds that she can grow personally, challenge herself, network, and be recognized for her work. She challenges others in and considering graduate school to pursue the same things. In the end, she sees these benefits of graduate school leading to greater personal satisfaction, a better job, and a financially better future.