Department of Psychology, 1980-1989 Every year in the Department of Psychology, there was one graduate student of color who was charged with supporting students of color within the program. This official departmental position was funded by a fellowship from GO-MAP*. I was one of the graduate students who held this position in the 1980’s. The support position and resulting community were extremely effective. Students of color in our department never felt like that they were on their own. The tight…
Department of Genetics, 1996 Wooden works in the Seattle area and is a full-time entrepreneur, with a number of projects in health and biomedical sciences. Wooden recalls how GO-MAP* functions helped him get out of the lab and make connections across disciplines. Graduate school can be very arduous for people. It can be a long road, with a lot of ups and downs. Cynthia and the others in the GO-MAP office were always there to support you if there was…
College of Education, 1998 Dr. Howard came to the UW after teaching in elementary school classrooms in Compton, California. Advised by Professor James Banks (the “Father of Multicultural Education), Howard studied multicultural education, academic achievement among African Americans, and equity in the classroom. Howard has continued onto an impressive career as a professor of education at University of California – Los Angeles, where he continues to study race and equity in K-12 education. At UCLA, Howard is the former associate dean…
Mechanical Engineering BSME – 1989 MSME – 1996 Ph.D. – 2004 For Jessica Yellin, Ph.D., ‘04, GO-MAP* provided emotional support and community as she tackled a challenging graduate school program and cared for her family. Yellin describes herself as “a local yocal and kind of a lifer.” Having grown up in the Seattle area, she earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. at the University of Washington in Mechanical Engineering. She was recruited to UW’s engineering department as a senior in…
School of Environmental & Forest Services, 2008 “I’m quite sure if it wasn’t for GO-MAP*, I wouldn’t be in my position now,” says Morris Johnson, a research fire ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and a UW affiliate professor. “I would not have gone to graduate school, would not have gotten the Gates Millennium Scholarship to continue my studies, I would not be in Seattle.” Johnson hails from the small town of Waterproof, Louisiana. Military service was the expectation for Johnson…
College of EducationM.Ed. – 1999Ph.D. – 2011 As a student, Audra Gray-Dowdy formed an informal network of peers of color to help her navigate graduate school. GO-MAP* helped to formalize these networks and expand their reach beyond her department. Through conversations in the GO-MAP office and GO-MAP social events, Gray-Dowdy made connections that showed her “people who look like me do this and finish this process, and I can, too.” “We really got to know each other well through GO-MAP,”…
Department of Classics, 2014 I received a GO-MAP* supplemental grant and later a dissertation fellowship during my time at UW. The fellowship was quite unexpected for me and came at a moment when I was debating whether I would be able to finish my dissertation at all. The award had the practical effect of making it financially possible for me to work on my dissertation, but it moreover felt like a real vote of confidence; I felt flattered that my…
Molecular & Cellular Biology, 2016 First year of graduate school was a tough transition year for me. While I got along well with my classmates, I was still searching to build community in Seattle. Throughout my first year, GO-MAP* continued to invite me to events, but in the haze of classes and lab, I failed to attend. At the beginning of my second year, I made a conscious decision to try out a GO-MAP event. I awesomely decided to attend…
English, 2004 For Tamiko Nimura, Dr. Johnnella Butler’s classes felt like a sanctuary. Butler was director of the Minority Education Division (renamed GO-MAP* during her tenure) from 2000–2006. “Dr. Butler not only taught classes that provided community for students of color,” says Nimura, “she was a mainstay support for us.” During Nimura’s first year in graduate school, “I was terrified to speak up in classes,” she says. “But I never felt terrified around Dr. Butler. I always felt the comments…