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Programming Innovation for Youth-serving Organizations​

"Lessons I’ve Learned in the First Year of my Ph.D. Program" by Rosaura Dominguez-Rebollar

4/26/2019

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This time last year, I was planning my move to Michigan for Michigan State’s Community Psychology Ph.D. program. This was a major goal I had worked very hard to achieve, but I never really thought about what would come after. Even though I applied to grad programs both in and out of New York City, I hadn't really given any thought to what it would be like to actually have to move for grad school until I had to when I ended up choosing to go to a grad school program outside of New York.
I will soon be finishing my first year in grad school. I managed to live by myself in a different state without burning my house down or giving myself food poisoning. It’s definitely been an interesting journey settling into my Ph.D. program, so I thought I'd share some lessons I've learned in my first year.

Keep contact back home
You will get homesick. Even when you talk to your parents at least once a day, as I do, you will get homesick, trust me. If it's not something you haven't experienced before, you won't know what you're feeling when it first hits you. It will feel awful, but it's normal to feel this way, especially if it’s the first time you’re away from home, like me. It helps to talk to someone who's already been through it. I talked with a friend who had gone to grad school the year before and he helped me identify that it was homesickness I was feeling. Cry if you feel the need to. And most importantly, connect with your family. Even if you are out on your own, that doesn't mean you are alone. Your family misses you too, so they will be more than happy to hear from you.
Homesickness will be something that comes and goes, but it’s easier to deal with when you know what it is you’re feeling. Contact your family as often as you need to. There are no set rules that limit or dictate how you connect to your family. Funnily enough, I feel more connected to my parents now that I’m actually away from home. We now talk more than ever before! My mom has also become one of those WhatsApp moms that sends an encouraging poem every day, and I've learned to look forward to them every single day.


Don't compare yourself to others
The thing about grad school is that everybody here is conventionally smart. Coming into grad school, you may be shocked that you are no longer the “smart one” of your group. It's easy to fall into the trap of imposter syndrome and feel like you're one sentence away from being discovered and getting kicked out of grad school. However, you have to keep in mind that everybody’s research is different, they all have different goals, and it's normal to be moving at different paces, so it doesn't make any sense to compare yourself to fellow graduate students.

The importance of accountability
For me, grad school has been an exercise in adulting. I knew I could keep up with classes relatively well, but I wasn't prepared for the sudden loss of the routine I learned to keep during undergrad. Grad school keeps you busy, but it also creates more free time than you know what to do with. It was easy for me to get lulled into a false sense of security that I had plenty of time to finish everything I needed to get done.
You can have a life in grad school if you plan accordingly. There won't be anyone assigned to keep an eye on you specifically. Remember you are a grown up and you have to be responsible for yourself -- after all, you chose to apply to grad school, so now you have to do the work. However, that doesn't mean that you can’t have a little help. Depending on your work style, you might be more comfortable scheduling time where you and a group of friends work together, say in a coffee shop or in someone’s home. Some people like setting up deadlines for themselves, usually before an actual assignment is due. Others recommend getting an accountability buddy. You know yourself best, so if you feel that something works for you, go for it.

Make friends outside of your program and discipline
Grad school is great because you get to meet like-minded peers. However, you have to remember that there is more to grad school and to life outside of your program. I know sometimes it becomes easy for grad students to stay within their program or department, as they often don't need to go elsewhere on campus to get what they need, and I have to admit I'm also somewhat guilty of this. But I've also learned to take advantage of the, very often free, events on campus, which usually also have free food, a topic I will touch on later as well. This way you get to do something fun (as defined by you) and you get to meet other students outside of your discipline. I especially like meeting other grad students outside of psychology, because I get to learn about other cool topics as well. For example, hyenas!
Go for the free food, stay for the talk
    People will often make jokes about grad students and free food and these jokes are not completely unfounded. I've certainly gone to events where my first question was “Will there be food?” instead of “What is this event about?” But honestly, who hasn't done the same? Even if this is the method you use to decide what events you go to, you can actually learn a lot of cool things once you're there. Because I was promised free food, I've gone to job talks, brown bags, and union meetings, among other events. Apart from good food, I have also learned about the university hiring process, gotten the break down of the application of cool methods, and participated in union strategizing, just to mention a few things. So, go for the free food, but stay for the talk.

These are just some of the things I’ve learned during my short time in grad school, but I'm sure I still have many more lessons to learn and I'm excited to see what those lessons will be.

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"Lessons Learned in the Community-AID Lab" by Meg Normand

4/16/2019

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I started at the Community-Aid Lab almost two years ago as an AmeriCorps VISTA, expecting that I would stay for a year. It was my first job out of college, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I knew that I would be gaining research and professional experience in a field closely related to my future career path in the field of public health, but I didn’t expect that my one-year position would turn into a two-year position. Although I’ll be leaving the lab in the fall to begin graduate school in a field outside of community psychology and academia, I’ve learned many lessons in the lab that I will use for the rest of my career.

1)    Importance of work-life balance
Before I started working at the lab, I thought being passionate and successful in a career meant dedicating all your time and energy to the job. I assumed that successful people must eat, sleep, and breathe their career because that type of approach  is often glamorized in academia and beyond. However, in the lab I’ve learned that it’s important to have a work-life balance. The members of the lab taught me that investing in your life outside of work is key to creating successful work. I’ve learned that a life lacking work-life balance,  -- even if you’re in a career you consider fun and fulfilling-- is going to lead to burnout.
2)    Letting go of perfectionism
When I first started at the lab, I was scared to turn in or show my work to a more experienced lab member  until it was perfect. As a post-baccalaureate right out of college, not much work I was producing was going to be perfect. This disconnect created issues because I would spend hours trying to perfect something that I didn’t yet have the skill set to perfect. The expectations I set for myself soon created debilitating stress and missed deadlines. With the help of lab members, I eventually realized that the lab environment was intended to be a place to grow and learn. Instead of expecting perfection, the lab was expecting me to give projects a try. This realization led to more growth and learning because I was able to openly collaborate and ask questions on my projects.
3)    Collaboration
Before working in the lab, I’d never worked on a team in a professional setting. I had worked on teams in college classes and in internships in which one person ended up taking over the work for the whole team. In the lab, we’re working on much bigger projects and have to rely on others to assist with the completion of a project. Using the concept of integrated decision making, I’ve learned how to work with others while being respectful of others’ time and responsibilities.
4)    How to get out of my comfort zone
During my time in the lab, I’ve had several experiences that made me go outside of my comfort zone. Chief among these experiences was working on my fear of public speaking. Coming into the lab, I was terrified of public speaking. When I first started in the lab, members encouraged me to present on topics I’m passionate about to other lab members. This practice made me much more comfortable with public speaking. I eventually was comfortable enough to present research at conferences to other academics and evaluators. Although I’m still working on overcoming this fear, the lab has given me the tools and support to address this fear.

Although I don’t plan on continuing a career in community psychology or academia, I believe these lessons learned in the Community-AID Lab will be applicable to any career path I pursue.


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