Last week, I received official notification that my PhD was conferred!  In normal-speak, this means that Curtin University has fully accepted my PhD and that I can now use my new title!

In a nice coincidence, that same day my printed and bound thesis copies were ready for collection.  So I had the double pleasure of holding my academic babies AND referring to myself as Dr Sarah Marley!

In that moment, all I could remember were the highlights and golden times.  The amazing experiences, friends and discoveries that happened along the way.  The opportunity to do something novel and exciting.  I was reminded of how happy I was to start my PhD, giving my top three reasons for doing so to be curiosity, love of research, and enjoyment of being challenged.  And although the end of the PhD was certainly challenging, when I was holding the final, finished project as an official Dr of Dolphins, all I could think was:

Totally. Worth. It.