In this episode Dr. Toyin Alli talks about the importance of time management and how it made all the difference for her success in completing her PhD. She shares insights about her own journey and the ways in which she was both "prepared" and "unprepared" for becoming a PhD student. She also shares practical tips for PhD students, her signature FOCUS method, and what graduate students can do when they become "stuck" or "stressed" even after they have set goals for themselves.

In this episode, host Elissa J. discusses the importance of having a strategy when attending conferences. Now that we are transitioning back to more in person and hybrid conference options instead of "online only," there are some practical preparedness tips she offers for graduate school conference goers.

Highlights include:

*Connecting themes with scholarship

*Planning for intimate and informal connections

*Knowing how you want to be remembered beyond your business card

*Preparing questions for opportunities

In this episode, host Elissa J talks about what doctoral students should consider when giving and receiving feedback. Through the transition from a Masters program to a PhD/doctoral program, graduate students are not always clear on how to build their capacity to grow in this area. Elissa J. offers some tangible take-aways and considerations for those who want to move forward with actionable steps.

Show Highlights Include

*Distinguishing the type of feedback for the context

*Considering the request(s) and stated need

*Considering the growth you seek

*Separating the person from the organization

*Dialoguing when it serves your growth [which is a good thing most often].

In this episode Dr. Nicole Telfer, scholar, author, and activist, talks about levers for success along her doctoral journey. As a first-gen college student, Black female, daughter of immigrants, she entered her program with prior education, familial, and faith-based grounding, but she also faced challenges.

Show highlights include:

Power of Relationships & Levers for Success

Show highlights include

**The impact of fellowships

**Dimensions of advocacy

**Inner-voice and self-talk

**Connecting with other Black Women

**Building a peer locus

**Family and Faith-based Motivators

**Graduate Student Organizations

**Pausing and critical reflection during the process

In this "Navigational Tips" episode, host Elissa J discusses considerations Black PhD students when developing mentorship relationships with White faculty mentors at their PWIs.

Show highlight include the following:

**Establishing patterns of asking questions (the most important ones).

**Clarifying needs.

**Attending to your personal safety & wellness

**Parameters around timing and engaging when ready

**Not over-explaining

**Viewing the relationship as reciprocal

**Pacing and progress with trust

In this episode, Dr. McKinney shares why he embraced taking risks along his doctoral journey and how they've paid off.

Show Highlights:

• Navigating the loss of loved ones

• Mindset and internal dialogue

• Practical ways to implement self-care

• Stretching your comfort zone and taking risks

As a graduate student, how do you know if the opportunity in front of you is YOUR opportunity? In this episode, host Elissa J. shares the approach she takes, the questions she asks when faced with the desire or the pressure to accept an opportunity, and a framework for how to decide if you'd like to move forward with an opportunity.

Show Highlights include:

*Critical reflection on the season in your life

*Visibility, receipts, and tangibles

*Values and the concept of compensation

*Time allocation and building relationships

*How to exit an obligation if it is not serving you

In this episode, Dr. Marlon James discusses what doctoral students should consider when doing research in and for Black communities. He shares both the "why" that drives him , the challenges that he has faced in higher ed, and ultimately, how he has been successful in doing phenomenal research.

Show highlights:

*Family and community influences and how they shape your lens

*The role of faith in identity formation and goal setting

*Navigating racism in higher education

*Not just having a PhD/EdD, but BEING a PhD/EdD

*Ways to engage in impactful work even when others de-value it

In this episode, Dr. Allegra Grice talks about her journey into "becoming a scholar and researcher," some of the common pitfalls she overcame, and how she uses her experiences to pour into her own students.

Show highlights include:

1.Switching programs and internal negotiation.

2.Researching interests you are passionate about, but that others may not embrace or have questions about.

3.Learning from mentors in academia that don’t look like you

4.Strategies for navigating interdepartmental politics and power dynamics while being a grad student

5.Giving yourself grace and what that looks like in real -time.

6.Common pitfalls to beware of, and how to move through them as you are developing into a different [but still authentic] version of you.

In this episode Elissa J. discusses how the idea of being resilient can do much more harm than good, especially for Black women who have been socialized to accept poor treatment and not to create acceptable boundaries.