By Kevin Pajaro As a new professional of color with a graduate degree, I now recognize how my educational journey overall has left me feeling fragmented, confused, lost, and scared. At the moment, I am struggling to embrace the uncertainty of tomorrow. Not having my next career-related transition mapped out cements a deep fear that I am not living up to the potential I have for myself, nor the potential others see in me. I…
By Kimine Mayuzumi I decided to share a video clip of the webinar that Soko Starobin and I co-hosted a few weeks ago. The title was “how can busy academics slow down without guilt?” In the clip (Youtube video) below, I show you the part that interrogates our feelings of guilt and shame, which oftentimes keep us from stopping or slowing down. Where are the feelings coming from? I draw a diagram to show a possible…
By Kimine Mayuzumi & Riyad A. Shahjahan Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is. – Brene Brown In part I, we discussed how shame and imposter syndrome manifest in the academy. If you haven’t, please read it first. In part II, here we will share four strategies for navigating shame and imposter syndrome. 1. Get in touch with your shaming self First, we…
By Kimine Mayuzumi & Riyad A. Shahjahan Do you feel you’re not “enough” or “don’t belong” in the academy? Feel lost and wonder why you are in the academy? Do you have fear to speak ‘truth to power’? If so, you’re not alone! Through our workshops, coaching experiences, and personal interactions for the past few years, we have encountered over 800 people including faculty, postdocs, and graduate students who resoundingly say “YES!” to the above questions. Many…
By Roilui Sin Feeling like an imposter is not new to me as a graduate student. I have felt it since childhood. I am the youngest of two, my parents had emigrated from China in the early 70s – first to Brazil and then settling in Canada in 1985 when I was a toddler. Growing up, I felt like an outsider, needing to fit in and protect myself from being revealed as a “phony” Canadian.…
