Addressing Difference and Growing Your Support

Are any of these thoughts affecting you?

“I should understand that theory or concept already!”
“If I speak up to say I don’t understand something, I’ll look stupid in class.”
“I’m not participating the way everyone else is, so there must be something wrong with me.”
“Where is my community?”

Every graduate and professional student experiences doubt, anxiety or critical self-talk due to the demands of their educational programs. At the same time, there is no universal graduate student experience, and the long-held idea that you’ll automatically be successful if you just work hard enough is a myth. The reality is not everyone enters graduate school with the same access to social, cultural, professional and financial resources and not everyone is treated with equity. This is especially true if you are a first-generation graduate student, person of color, woman, person with visible or invisible disabilities, international student, or a member of the LGBT, Queer or Trans community (one can also embody multiple, intersecting identities and backgrounds).

Sometimes asking for help can feel like taking a risk—that it calls attention to your difference and to your vulnerability. It’s no wonder then that asking for support on campus can either feel truly unfamiliar or feel like a daunting task for many.

Core Programs’ mission is to promote an environment where all graduate and professional students can thrive and to suggest strategies that encourage students to seek out the support they need to reach their intellectual, professional and interpersonal goals. We also see our work as aligned with larger, institutional efforts to address the complexities of difference at the University of Washington.

Here are some tips to help you remind yourself that you belong here and that your work is important:

When you feel you don’t belong. Also known as imposter syndrome, it’s the persistent, internalized belief that “you’re not smart enough, competent enough, or productive enough” to be in graduate school, and that peers, faculty members, and your department chair are somehow going to find out. Notice when these thoughts come up and stop yourself. As communication studies scholar Dr. Felicia Harris states, “The nagging voice that says I don’t belong discredits everything I’ve done to get to a certain point. Pursuing an advanced degree is an admirable and challenging feat, and I remind myself of this by celebrating every milestone.” Milestones can be getting your reading done, mustering the nerve to ask a professor for their mentorship, or gaining teaching, research, or career experience. Read more from Dr. Harris.

Mentoring needs. There are numerous reasons why you seek out mentors in graduate and professional school. The obvious ones are to develop intellectual and professional relationships with faculty advisors whose research or career backgrounds resonate with you. Sometimes a single mentor can support you in multiple ways. Yet it also turns out that we often need a mentor network for different dimensions of our lives. Start with an inventory and see where your needs are being met and where you may have gaps. Some dimensions include:

Academic — Specific skills or techniques, new knowledge domains
Career — Sponsorship, exposure, coaching, protection, challenging
Psychosocial — Role modeling, acceptance and confirmation, counseling, friendship
Values — Worldviews, belief systems, politics

Grow your support. In our first fall quarter newsletter, we encouraged you to get to know the campus community by attending departmental and welcome events to make meaningful connections with peers, staff and faculty. Other ways to grow your support system are identifying those safe people you can confide in when things feel tough. These can be close friends, loved ones, members of your faith-based or spiritual community, and even a qualified mental health professional (there’s no shame in seeking counseling).

Jaye Sablan & Kelly Edwards
Core Programs, The Graduate School

Additional Resources

What Influences Your Mentoring Needs, UW Graduate School

Good Science for Social Good

Data Science for Social Good paired data scientists with 16 UW graduate and undergraduate students to work on projects to reduce homelessness, foster community well-being and map better sidewalk routes for people with mobility challenges.

Getting Started With Your Graduate Education

On behalf of Core Programs in the Graduate School, welcome to all our new and returning graduate and professional students! We are thrilled you are at the University of Washington, where you will have a new year of opportunities to strengthen and grow your intellectual and professional skills. This fall, we encourage you to tap into resources that can help you thrive as you navigate graduate student life.

Here are just a few ways to get you started:

Find your ground. Graduate school is about navigating a complex set of academic, professional and social experiences. Whether you are new or returning to campus, this can sometimes feel overwhelming and unwelcoming—especially if you belong to an underrepresented community based on race, gender, sexuality, class, ability or citizenship. One way to counteract this imposter feeling is to say to yourself, “I do belong here.” You are in graduate school to enhance or find your career path, give back to your families and communities, or make important contributions to research and innovation. For even more tips and strategies on how to counteract feelings that you don’t belong, check out these resources: here and here.

Get to know department staff. From organizing orientations, providing a supportive ear to students, or ensuring that you fulfill your degree requirements, Graduate Program Advisors (GPAs) are often your first point of contact into graduate school. They also provide important administrative support for graduate programs. Feel free to reach out to your GPA, as they have a wealth of experience and knowledge of your campus. If they don’t know the answer, they can often connect you with campus resources that serve the needs of graduate students.

Attend department events. Whether they are faculty or peer presentations, departmental meetings, working committees, or peer pub nights, there are numerous opportunities to connect with peers, staff, and faculty throughout the year. These co-curricular spaces provide an opportunity for you to glean information such as how to develop strong presentations, pick up disciplinary lingo (don’t worry if you don’t know all the terms yet), learn the spoken and unspoken culture of your graduate program, and foster collegial relationships with faculty and peers. Remember to pace yourself—you need not attend everything as you are already busy. We know from experienced graduate students that it’s best to attend events that make sense to you and your schedule.

Prepare for graduate seminars. It’s totally natural to feel excited and anxious about attending your first graduate seminar—especially if you don’t know what to expect or are the first person in your family to attend graduate school. Fortunately, Dr. Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication at UW Seattle, provides useful tips on how to succeed in a graduate seminar.

Find your community. The University of Washington is a big place, with three campuses and multiple off-site research locations. We know that a feeling of belonging on campus is critical to your success as graduate students. It makes a difference to find and connect with people that can support your whole self—and not just your role as a graduate or professional student.

Best Wishes On a New Academic Year,

Kelly Edwards, Jaye Sablan, Ziyan Bai
Core Programs Staff, The Graduate School

Stand Up!

We’ve all heard about the dangers of sitting for too long. Are there quiet places on campus to study on a laptop while standing up that are comfortable for someone over five-foot-six-inches tall? Although super cool, the counter height tables in the Research Commons are too low.

—The Standing Grad Student

What a great question! Yes, indeed, sitting is verboten now. It was hard to get a definitive list of standing opportunities on campus, but here are a few options to get you started: As you mentioned, the counters in the Research Commons. They have outlets and space for your laptop, but are low for taller students. Could you just stack some big, heavy books and make yourself a stand? The Odegaard Library also has counters, with the same pros and cons as before. The H-Bar coffee shop in the Physics Astronomy Building has tall tables and counters, but is not exactly a formal studying space. The Suzzallo Lobby and Allen North both have desktop computers on counters, so if you can work on a UW computer, that might be an option. We’ll post this question on the Graduate School Facebook group page and solicit suggestions.

And don’t despair, some sitting is not bad; and sometimes sitting feels so good. If you don’t have a standing desk, just stand up at regular intervals. This alternative position also definitely looks doable. Good luck!

Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Student Parents

I’m a single parent. Are there any resources available to me? —Anonymous

First of all, congratulations! Kids are awesome. The Student Parent Resource Center provides resource and financial support, in the form of childcare assistance. You can also connect with other student parents. The center is located on the Seattle campus in Schmitz Hall. For Tacoma student parents, the UW Tacoma Childcare Assistance Program helps with childcare costs. (Unfortunately, Bothell currently doesn’t have any funds for childcare assistance.)

TA/RA Positions

Where may I look for available TA/RA positions for next quarter? Also, does working in a UW Library give any benefit as the ones received through TA/RA: Tuition waiver or graduate insurance? —Anonymous

Teaching assistants, research assistants and graduate staff assistants are hired directly by departments. If you are interested in a TA/RA/GSA position, contact the department in which you are interested directly for more information. Keep in mind that you can look for positions outside of your home department. Though most departments hire through their own student populations, other departments—particularly those that don’t have graduate students or administrative units that hire graduate staff assistants—will recruit widely for positions from relevant degree programs across campus. Every department runs its own hiring process and can let you know what it requires to be considered for such positions. Check the UW Employment site for TA/RA/GSA positions (category: Academic Student Employee).

The Graduate Funding Information Service is another resource and runs a blog for both UW and outside funding.

As for library positions, Erik Dahl, employment and payroll services manager of UW Libraries, says: “We generally have one or two salaried positions that are in academic student employee positions covered by the UAW contract and, thus, eligible for the tuition waiver or graduate insurance. Most of our student employee positions, however, are hourly positions that do not offer formal benefits beyond wages. Working in the libraries does offer the opportunity to learn more about our resources, programs, and services, which can be beneficial to employees’ academic work. Library positions also allow students to gain skills and work experience that, depending on career goals, may be directly related to their field or generally transferable. And of course (like any on-campus job) library positions are conveniently located and may offer tax benefits relative to off-campus work. Like other on-campus jobs, library positions usually find students working with staff and supervisors who are highly supportive and flexible when it comes to balancing work with their academic schedules and other demands.”

Good luck!

Death and Taxes

Filing taxes seems more complicated than it should be, and there seems to be no help from the university, despite the fact that many graduate students have very similar tax situations. What’s the best way to file to maximize our return (where do we put student fees and union dues and all of the other things that we can claim to reduce our tax liability)? Are there good tax help resources available? —Anonymous

Why are taxes so complicated? Albert Einstein once said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” Anyway, yes, the UW does provide tax help! Student Fiscal Services is holding general student tax workshops Thursdays, April 2 and 9, 1:30-2:30 p.m. They are also holding a workshop specifically for graduate/professional students on Wednesday, April 8, 2:30-3:30 p.m. and one for international students on Tuesday, April 7, 1:30-2:20 p.m. All workshops are held at UW Seattle, Odegaard 220. If you can’t make a workshop in person, you can download their presentation. Also, the Seattle Public Library offers one-on-one tax help at various branches. United Way offers help at a few additional sites. (You must have made less than $60,000 in 2014 to be eligible for their free help. Probably not a problem for grad students?) Good luck!

“Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.” —Gerald Barzan, humorist

Talk All Day

Where can I find a place which requires me to speak English all day long? I’m a foreign student, and I want to practice my English speaking. —Jinchang

Hello! Welcome to Seattle and UW! An organization that immediately comes to mind is the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS). They host a monthly lunch, weekly Conversation Groups, fun outings, volunteer opportunities and more. Please do check them out.

Another UW program is the Language Exchange Program, where you are matched with a native English speaker for conversation practice. The Seattle Public Library also holds Talk Time, an ESL conversation group, at several locations.

There are also several UW-programs meant as an intensive orientation to incoming students, but if you really think you would benefit from a short-term immersion, you should check out the following: Campus Intensive English Program, Downtown Intensive English Program, Advanced Conversation Course, Advanced Academic Preparation Skills.

In addition, there are many informal ways you can practice your English. You could join Toastmasters or join a MeetUp, or you could take up a volunteer opportunity on your own. If you need help locating a position, you can start with VolunteerMatch or United Way or this nice round-up of Seattle opportunities. Here’s some additional information about volunteering as a way to enrich your own language experience.

The Graduate School understands international students face unique challenges and also offer myriad contributions to our campus. If you’re interested, please see our International Students Report 2014, detailing international admissions and enrollment trends and how to best serve the needs of international students and the larger UW graduate community.

*Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Cheap Food

Is there any cafeteria in the university that serves food at a subsidized rate? Each meal at the HUB costs around $10/meal, and it just gets a little difficult to afford that on a daily basis. —Anonymous

Unfortunately, there aren’t any subsidies just for graduate students. Residence Halls offer a dining account that includes incentives (3-6% of your dining account level), but they aren’t available to those who don’t live in UW housing. Here’s a list of lunches on the Ave for $5. Be sure to read the comments for more suggestions. And, not to state the obvious, but you could always bring your own food. Lifehacker has ideas for upgrading the typical brown bag so you don’t get tired of them. Good luck!

Parking Woes

I went online trying to purchase a parking permit, and they were all sold out except for evening passes. Any other alternatives that are close to campus and don’t require me to leave class every 90 min to pay a meter? —Anonymous

It sounds like your best bet is to go with self-serve parking. Some options are 1) the E1 lot, north of the IMA off of Montlake, which is $2 if you carpool with someone else and have a U-PASS or $6 if you drive by yourself; 2) purchasing a daily permit each day at one of the gatehouses which is $15/day ($3/day for carpools with U-PASS); 3) using a self-serve pay machine, which, depending on the lot, costs $3/hour with a maximum of $15/day or $3/day. Other options to consider are to find a ride-share, commute by bus, or drive most of the way to a nearby park-and-ride and then catch a short bus ride to campus.

If you have any questions, Transportation Services can go through all your options more thoroughly with you. They even offer a Commute Concierge service that will tailor a commute to your individual needs. Good luck!