Sohee Carpenter

No.

A couple months ago.

I was in a really fortunate position where I was in a distance program, a virtual program.

I don't know if you felt this way, but I first got my bachelor's degree, obviously.

I worked for four years and then a few years later, I was like, I need a bit more.

So I went back and got my master's degree in psychology.

That was a two-year program.

By the end of my master's degree, I was so not really enamored with academics from my personal experience.

that I was like, I think I'm done.

And then I found out that Eric Helms, who we know, icon in the industry, had gotten his PhD from AUT, Auckland University of Technology.

And he was, at the time,

taken on PhD students as an advisor.

And there was also at the time, which I believe they don't do anymore, they had a distance program, a virtual program.

So I was like, wait, if Eric Helms has taken on students, he's willing to take me on.

I've met him before.

I get along great with him.

We have overlapping areas of interest.

And I can do this while staying in California, staying home, because I was working from home.

I was like, this is the only way I think I would ever do my PhD.

So I was super fortunate that I was able to stay home, keep running my business, which was a personal decision of mine.