Thriving in Graduate School 2.0

GSEE invited Core Programs staff to facilitate a power hour event called Thriving in Graduate School. Graduate students who attended had the opportunity to learn from a panel of experienced graduate students of color currently working on their Masters and Doctoral degrees. These included Jessica Hernandez (Marine and Environmental Affairs & Environmental and Forest Sciences), Crystal Agoncillo (Evans School of Public Policy and Governance), Lindsey Wilson (Education), and Issa Abdulcadir (Sociology), who shared their wisdom and strategies for surviving and thriving—within and outside of graduate school. We thank them for allowing us to share their pearls of wisdom below.

Self-advocacy. In order for you to get the support you need, meet goals, and achieve milestones as a graduate student—it is important that you advocate for yourself so you can be–and feel–successful. If you are in need of emotional, professional, or intellectual mentorship from peers, reach out to students within and outside of your cohort. Finally, take the initiative to schedule regular meetings with faculty mentors and advisors. E-mail them a meeting request with a short, realistic list of things you’ll be talking about (e.g. coursework, preparing for a conference, the progress of your thesis or dissertation, job search, or even a set of questions that will help you understand your graduate program better), and a list of dates and times you can meet, especially if you are unable to meet during their office hours. As you need to, negotiate for changing deadlines to ensure you are putting forth your best work.

Community. Recognize that you are a whole person, with a need for community on and off campus. It is perfectly okay (and necessary) for you to foster community with students, staff, and faculty across campus, especially if you have similar life experiences based on race, gender, ability, sexuality, economic background, or nationality. Connecting with individuals who share experiences based on your identities and shared values can help decrease isolation and buffer the effects of campus-based microaggressions. Connecting with community can also look like making time in your schedule to spend time with, skype, or call loved ones to maintain relationships with family and friends, especially if you moved to Washington for graduate school from another state or country. This can also look like volunteering with local organizations and social movements in your city, as many of us care deeply about issues of equity and social justice.

Purpose. As above, connecting with people and causes that you care about will keep you fueled for the long road ahead that is graduate school. Remember why you are here and the contributions you want to make. Your purpose and passion is your North Star and can help to ground you when the deadlines, demands, and noise around you get to be too much. And remember that you belong here. Make the UW Graduate School experience your own, make your graduate student experience work for YOU. #UWGradSuccess #UWGOMAP

Best,

Kelly, Jaye, and Ziyan
Core Programs Team

Thank you again to the grad student panelists and GSEE for co-organizing another successful power hour event and for asking us to collaborate with them!

Love Your Stuff

Love your stuff, keep it safe, and register it with the UW Police.

Off-Campus Library Access

Why can’t I use the library website unless I’m on campus? — Anonymous

Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with this. In order to access the library from off-campus, you’ll have to use the Libraries off-campus proxy service. It sounds complicated, but it’s actually really simple. Instructions on their website will walk you through it.

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 →

Cell Phone Discounts

UW students are eligible for cell phone plan discounts on qualifying plans.

Student Discounts

This guide to student discounts lists a lot of popular places you might be spending money at anyway.

UW Seattle Campus Resources for Postdocs

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs convened a brief but rich Winter 2016 Postdoc Orientation last week. For those unable to attend, we wanted to highlight a few of the resources featured during the event. We also are debuting the first UW Postdoc Handbook (v 1.0), available by February 1 on our website to download.

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) While research advisors, schools, colleges, and programs retain primary responsibility for postdoctoral researchers within their disciplines, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) is here as a resource for postdocs, postdoc advisors and managers. We are invested in a productive postdoc experience where postdocs can successfully transition to their next career move.

Need Career Guidance? UW Career Center
A list of online resources and in-person services offered by the Career Center for postdocs seeking careers in the academia, corporate, non-profit, and government sectors. Some consultation services are fee-based. All workshops are open to post-docs free of charge. Check out their Academic Career Series and Non-Academic Career Series.

Looking for Community?

FIUTS – FIUTS connects students – and postdocs – to local and global communities through programs that build international awareness, cross-cultural communication, and informed leadership. Based on campus at UW, FIUTS programs create a community of international and American students, members of the local community, and alumni around the world.

Q Center – UW Q Center is a primarily student run resource center dedicated to serving anyone with or without a gender or sexuality: students, postdocs, staff, faculty, alum, and community members. They put on regular programming events, and house a lending library. The Q Center also hosts a queer mentoring program – sign up to be a mentor or receive one. Their office is located at Husky Union Building (HUB) Room 315.

SACNAS – SACNAS UW Chapter supports the mission of fostering success of Chicano/Hispanic and Native American scientists – from college to professionals – to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in science. Postdocs are welcome at monthly meetings and events.

UWPA – The University of Washington Postdoctoral Association (UWPA) is an organization run by postdoctoral researchers for postdoctoral researchers. It is served by an executive committee, elected by peers, who have generously donated their time and efforts to improve the state of postdoctoral affairs at UW.

Working to Resolve Conflict?
Ombuds for consultation and mediation – The Office of the Ombud serves the entire university community by providing a collaborative and confidential environment to discuss your situation, consider options, and develop a plan for the future. Consultation and guidance regarding effective strategies to manage conflicts on your own are most common. Mediation is also available. To make an appointment, please call: 206-543-6028.

Questions about Benefits or Visas?
Benefits Office Anne Winkelman, Director

International Scholars Operations (ISO) For questions about visas, including relevant academic appointments, contact acadvisa@uw.edu.

Need Childcare Resources or Support as a Parent? Worklife and Childcare
Amy Hawkins, Director

There are other offices on campus who can help (the new Postdoc Handbook lists several). If you are in doubt about which services you need, please consult the Office of Postdoc Affairs (UWOPA@uw.edu) and we can point you in the right direction.

Originally posted on January 21, 2016.

Outdoorsy

Discover the Union Bay Natural Area and other UW outdoor spots.

How to Collar a Snow Leopard

UW graduate student Shannon Kachel recounts effort to collar snow leopard in Kyrgyzstan.

Tacoma Y

UW Tacoma students have free access to the University Y Student Center on campus, AND all Y locations in Pierce and Kitsap counties.

School Smart, Love Dumb

I recently started seeing a very nice guy who also happens to be a grad student here on campus. My question is, how do I find the time and energy for dating while being a grad student? What specific activities can I do here in Seattle, given that there’s hardly any time on weekdays, we are not living together, and we are both not rich enough to afford cars?

I’m really clueless on how to keep this thing going. Due to class/TA hours, we have only a 30-minute window to meet for lunch, and it always so happens that if he brings lunch from home, I forget to, so I need to go out to eat, which isn’t enough time for him to get back to his next class, and vice-versa. He gets to campus really early, so he’s tired by 7 pm, which is when I get out of OH, so we can’t really meet after that. Which leaves weekends, and it’s always raining here, so hikes are ruled out until summer, I think.

We’ve done all the getting-to-know-each-other talks, now I sense a bit of boredom seeping into our bland meetings. Apart from there not being much time to meet (as described above), there’s also this thing that ever since I started grad school, all I can think and talk about is my research. I literally have no clue what’s going on in the world, I’m too tired to have an opinion on anything, and I haven’t seen any movies recently. I just don’t know how to fix this! Is this something other grad students who are dating relate to? Any advice on how to fix it? —Stuck in Love, Suck at Love

Well, what an interesting dilemma. It seems to this guru that you need to break down the larger issue of finding time to connect and identify each small problem and then brainstorm solutions with your significant other.

Problem #1: If one of you brings lunch and the other buys lunch, you have no time to eat and talk together.
Possible solutions: Commit to always bringing lunch. Commit to always buying lunch. Eat in a campus café where you are welcome to bring outside food in (Rotunda, HUB, H-Bar, etc.).

Problem #2: You don’t know what to do on the weekends, especially in the winter.
Possible solutions: Learn to like hiking in the rain. Do an urban hike. Download a Seattle guide and try to do one a weekend. Take advantage of UW events.

Problem #3: You have nothing in common to talk about.
Possible solutions: Try to talk about your research in a big-picture way that’s relatable. Create shared experiences. Consult a guide of free/cheap fun dates. Email or text quick messages throughout the day and try to build up a casual, ongoing conversation that’s less intimidating than trying to save all conversation for weekends.

And now let’s open it up to other graduate students to share their suggestions. Have you ever found yourself in Suck at Love’s situation? Please leave your tips in the comments!