Dorina Murgulet
BIO
Associate Professor of Hydrogeology and Director of the Center for Water Supply Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Mom to 2 children (aged 6 and 17).
Instagram: @dm2058865630
Dorina Murgulet
“Through persistence, I have managed to have a successful career, hopefully making my children proud.”
I left Romania when my husband was accepted into a geoscience doctoral program at the University of Alabama. When my oldest child was two years old, I entered the same program. Being international students, we had no family support, but a large group of Romanian friends made up for much of that. Still, it was challenging.
I went back to school after a three-year break, where I had to study in a different language. Along with raising a toddler, I held a graduate assistantship, took a full course load and conducted my research.
As I dived deeper into the doctoral work, my life revolved around late nights doing homework, running models, and cooking dinner with my little one in the kitchen. My daughter drew and I studied.
While I spent long hours colouring and drawing, I wrote research reports and my dissertation. She became such a great artist. I later joined Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi as a tenure-track assistant professor and had my second child.
I have been blessed with hardworking and motivated graduate students who took on the field and lab responsibilities.
I write grants, teach courses, and mentor my undergraduate and graduate students, while taking care of my children. I have often felt like I will never be the accomplished scientist I dreamt, that I would get tenure, or be recognised in my field like many of my colleagues are.
My children are growing, and they always need more attention than I give, and I also feel as though I may have failed at being a good mother. My responsibilities as faculty and as the director of a funded research lab make it hard to be part of their daily activities. I was never the mom who takes part in school activities, which is not easy on them. As discouraging as it all sounds, this made me work harder.
Through persistence, I have managed to have a successful career, hopefully making my children proud. Now my daughter is working on a research project with a colleague. We have gone from side by side at the kitchen table to the lab, together.