Did you know that according to the National Center for Education Statistics approximately 21% of doctoral students who complete a degree are women of color (National Center of Education Statistics, 2016)?

[Image Description: Boy crying after being asked “How is phd going?” and him responding “Great!”]

Pictured: The morning after a night of grading final papers and studying for qualifying exams

My name is Nathaly Martinez, and I am a first-generation woman of color in a doctoral program at the School of Education. I am in the second year of my program but I entered the program with a Master’s degree, which put me a little ahead of the game. My doctoral focus is in Higher Education Administration and Policy, and my dissertation topic continues to be in the works but will be in the realm of the role of mentorship for the success of Chicanas and Latinas in Higher Education. The intersectionality of my identities plays a large role in how I have managed to navigate my first two years as a doctoral student. Through advisors, resources, mentors, and my community, I have been able to persist to where I am today. Together, these resources have played a key role in my retainment in the program.

[Image Description: Jane from the tv show Jane the Virgin walking back in forth as she is studying.]

Pictured: In addition to studying, having a strong support system is key to graduate student success!

When I was considering Ph.D. programs, I wanted to make sure I attended an institution with plentiful resources for graduate students. I highly recommend that you know your resources on and off-campus. Here at UCR, I have found the Graduate Student Resource Center, the Graduate Student Advisory Committee, the Ethnic and Gender Programs, Basic Needs, and Counseling and Psychological Services to be extremely helpful during my time thus far in the doctoral program. Always check with your department as well. The Graduate School of Education has been helpful with guiding me towards scholarships and my current Graduate Student Assistantship at GradSuccess. These resources have been crucial given that I was only granted one year of guaranteed funding.  

My advisor has also been a crucial part of my doctoral journey. I have an extremely busy advisor so it has been important for me to remain persistent and to learn to be independent with my research. I have learned not to be afraid to speak up and to ask questions. I have also made sure to use my advisor’s connections to help me build on my work and to take courses that are outside the School of Education. We should not forget that our advisors are supposed to be our advocates, so actively communicating with them is important.

[Image Description: Elle Woods from the movie Legally Blonde saying “What? Like it’s hard?"]

Pictured: Grad school goes more smoothly when you communicate with your advisor and utilize campus resources.

Lastly, the community I have built for myself at UCR has had the biggest impact during my first two years. As an undergraduate student alumni and a former Student Affairs staff member at UCR, my network played an important role in attending UCR for my doctoral journey. My community and the communities that I move into have always been important in my life as a first-gen student and as a woman of color. Since UCR is an Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and the most diverse UC, I knew that my cohort would be diverse. I was not wrong. I am thankful to have a diverse cohort that values community as much as I do. We are sure to make time for happy hour, to help one another in course work, and to be there for one another when we are not too busy being graduate students.

Through it all, my first two years in graduate school have shown me that with persistence and resilience you can get through the roller coaster of things that come with graduate study.  My advice to you comes from a woman I admire, Gloria Anzaldúa, who says “Do work that matters, vale la pena” / “Do work that matters, it is worth it.”