✨ What if your grad school journey doesn't go according to plan?

Maybe you've thought about changing programs. Taking a leave of absence. Starting over. Or maybe life forced you to make a pivot you never expected.

This week on the Grad Girl Wellness Podcast, I'm joined by Valisha Edwards, a PhD student in Integrated Life Sciences with a concentration in Forensic Toxicology. Before beginning her doctoral journey, Valisha built a career as a forensic scientist/criminalist—giving her a unique perspective on what it means to leave the working world and step back into life as a graduate student.

We discuss:

🌱 Navigating the shame and insecurity that can come with unexpected detours

📚 How to choose a graduate program and advisor that truly fit your goals and needs

✨ Finding your identity beyond your degree when the title of "student" is no longer yours

🔍 Why curiosity—not fear—can be your greatest guide during a season of change

Your path doesn't have to be linear to be meaningful. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is ask a different question, choose a different direction, or redefine what success looks like for you.

If you're in a season of uncertainty, this conversation is for you.

💬 Connect with the future Dr. Edwards on LinkedIn

#GradGirlWellness #GradSchool #GraduateStudent #PhDLife #MastersStudent #AcademicJourney #HigherEducation #WomenInAcademia #GradSchoolLife #AcademicWellness #CareerPivot #GraduateSchool #PersonalGrowth #StudentSuccess #MentalHealthMatters

✨ On the heels of Black Maternal Health Week, this conversation is one you don’t want to miss.

We sat down with Dr. Michele Mayne 🎓—a newly minted PhD in Sociology (with a focus on medical sociology + community health & well-being)—who navigated the journey of unexpectedly becoming a mom during her doctoral program 🤱🏾📚

From challenges to triumphs, Dr. Mayne kept going… and her story is both real and inspiring 💫

In this episode, we dive into:

💭 How to decide if, when, and with whom to share your pregnancy

🧠 Strategies for navigating motherhood while staying on track academically

🌍 Building community as a woman of color and international student

🔥 Using motherhood as motivation—not limitation

🗂️ Creating structure while juggling coursework, teaching, adjuncting, and childcare

This episode is a powerful reminder that your path doesn’t have to look traditional to be successful 💪🏾✨ To get in touch with her, email [email protected]

🎧 Tune in now + share with a grad girl who needs this! 💕

Struggling to actually remember what you study? 🤯📚

On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Rachel Slaughter—an expert on how the brain learns and retains information 🧠✨

She breaks down practical, research-backed strategies you can start using right now:

🔑 Effective study techniques (chunking, highlighting, annotation, and more)

🧘🏾‍♀️ Why breaks + intentional reading are essential for brain recovery

🔗 How to make your reading relevant (so it actually sticks!)

📝 Test-taking strategies that help you show up with confidence and ease

If you’re tired of rereading the same page over and over, this episode is for YOU 💡

Learn more about her work at drrachelslaughter.com and follow her across social media for more gems 💻🌱

The dissertation is done—but the writing isn’t over. 📝 In this solo episode with Grad Girl Wellness creator, Dr. Angela, she shares some big news related to her dissertation! She reflects on what it’s really like to turn a dissertation into a book, juggling time, expectations, and uncertainty.

If you’re a grad student or postdoc in the “what now?” stage, this one’s for you 💛

On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness Podcast, we’re diving into all things leadership + higher education with the brilliant Dr. Nicole Rayfield. 🎓💛

She holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership with a focus on organizational citizenship behavior in Black women in academic spaces—aka all the extra labor we do that often goes unrecognized. 🙃✨

Get your notebooks ready, because she drops so many gems, including:

1️⃣ How to identify your “strategic yes” and decide if a leadership role is truly for you

2️⃣ How to step away from positions that no longer serve your growth 🙅🏽‍♀️✨

3️⃣ How to spot your everyday leadership abilities (yes, you have them!) 💪🏽

4️⃣ How to quiet self-doubt and trust your leadership power 💭➡️✨

To learn more about Dr. Rayfield and her entrepreneurial brilliance, follow her on IG:

👉🏽 @officialdrnicolerayfield

👉🏽 @polishmeunbothered

or visit www.polishmeunbothered.com 💌

Tune in, take notes, and step into your leadership era, Grad Girl. 💛🎧✨

Awwww S.N.A.P.! 🎙️

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Pearis Jean — psychologist, assistant professor, healer, and author. In her final year of graduate school, Dr. Jean developed a powerful model for Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism in Professional Spaces (S.N.A.P.) which is now a book! 📚

In this conversation, Dr. Jean shares insights on:

✨ Understanding and addressing anti-Black racism

🤝 Building peer support across graduate student cohorts

🧭 Using the S.N.A.P. decision-making model to prepare for, respond to and reflect on anti-Black racism

💡 Bonus: How a conference presentation turned into a book opportunity!

🌐 Connect with Dr. Jean:

Website: www.drpearisjean.com

Instagram: @pearisjeanphd

LinkedIn: Pearis Jean

📘 Check out the book:

Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism in Professional Spaces: A Practical Guide for Black People Responding to Racism in the Workplace — available wherever you buy books.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Destiny Williams-Dobosz, a postdoctoral fellow in Educational Psychology. Drawing from her own journey, Dr. Williams-Dobosz shares how personal experience became a doorway into her research on help-seeking among Black women in STEM and first-generation college students.

Our conversation explores:

• The resilience and vulnerability paradigm
• Redefining success in toxic environments
• Strategies for asking for help in college settings
• Ways to foster and support help-seeking behaviors in others

You can dive deeper into her work by reading her recent publication:

Williams-Dobosz, D. (2025). Storytelling as praxis: Leveraging a Black woman’s critical autoethnography as a first-generation college student to explore inequities and possibilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

🎓 You don’t have to do grad school alone! 💫

On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness podcast, we sit down with Darrien Johnson, founder and CEO of The Community Curator — a social-impact consultancy supporting grassroots organizations across Philadelphia 🌆💼

With a Master’s in Non-Profit Organizational Management, Darrien shares her powerful journey of leaning into community to navigate grad school and build lasting impact.

Tune in to hear:

🤝 How to find community in unexpected places

🏡 The importance of leaning on your home base during academic challenges

🌱 Tips for building sustainable and intentional community

Want to learn more about Darrien and her incredible work? Follow her on LinkedIn to stay connected and inspired!

#GradGirlWellness #CommunityBuilding #BlackWomenInNonProfits #GradSchoolJourney

🎙️ On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness podcast, we chat with designer, advocate, and creative visionary Diona Nicole! With a Master’s in User Experience and Interaction Design, Diona channeled her passion into founding Barren Fruit, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting those navigating infertility and reproductive health challenges 💛🌱

Tune in to hear:

✨ How Diona transformed an adjunct role into an opportunity for self-growth

🎓 How she used her master’s thesis to visualize the “silent” pain of women’s reproductive health

🤝 Practical ways to support someone experiencing reproductive health concerns

To learn more about Barren Fruit and the inspiring work Diona does to birth new ideas, visit Barrenfruit.org or follow her on IG at @Diona.Nicole 💫

#GradGirlWellness #ReproductiveHealth #InfertilityAwareness #WellnessJourney

Let's talk! On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with health advocate and doctoral student Shay Webb who is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Science. As someone diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis, she uses her passion for health equity to fuel her research and work in the legislative policy space. On this episode, you'll learn about:

• How and when to ask for accommodations
• The importance of building community
• How to manage advocacy work with pursuing a graduate work

To follow Shay's work you can subscribe to her newsletter "Webb of Diabetes", connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow on Instagram @shayd1t