In this episode, we got to reflect with our former professor and forever mentor ion her doctoral journey (and ours). Dr. Ayesha Boyce sihares how she chose her program, the boldness it took to bet on herself, and what it meant to step into mentoring others while she was still navigating her own path. She says if her journey were a book, the title would be Knuck If You Buck — she's cutesy and professional but (in her words "if you're feeling froggy, we can leap!" What made this conversation especially sacred were the full-circle moments: the things she quietly hoped someone would give her when she was coming up turned out to be the exact things we carry with us from her — and we got to tell her that, in real time.

Dr. Gabriel Keney charts his remarkable journey to and through grad school. From a brotherly pact among friends to leaving his family in Ghana for a few years while studying and ultimately celebrating his graduation reunited with his family, Dr Keney shares his wisdom with us.

In this episode of the Color of Success Dr. Thompson reflects on busting through the labels and being channeled into special ed classes to counting all the little and big successes throughout her grad school journey.

In this episode Dr. Tichavakunda talks to us about how he found life and joy in the along of his grad school journey, finding joy in friendships, surviving the competitive nature in classes and finding his niche.

In this episode Dr. Keya Glover reflects on getting her PhD in Social Work after years as a practicing social worker, navigating academic expectations full time while being a wife and a mother. Dr. Glover share about rolling over credits from a previous PhD attempt and enrolling in a joint program with an HBCU and an MSI.

In this episode of The Color of Success: The Black Academic Experience, we sit down with Dr. Michelle K. Lewis, professor of psychology, Fulbright Distinguished Chair alumna, and author, to reflect on a career shaped by curiosity, community, and care. Dr. Lewis shares her journey through graduate school at Howard University, her passion for brain and behavior research, and how multicultural relationships, mentorship, and asking the right questions shaped her academic path. From funding lessons to dissertation memories and the long-term impact of the PhD experience, this conversation offers wisdom, honesty, and joy for anyone navigating—or reflecting on—the academic journey.

In this episode of The Color of Success: The Black Academic Experience, we sit down with Dr. Michelle K. Lewis, professor of psychology, Fulbright Distinguished Chair alumna, and author, to reflect on a career shaped by curiosity, community, and care. Dr. Lewis shares her journey through graduate school at Howard University, her passion for brain and behavior research, and how multicultural relationships, mentorship, and asking the right questions shaped her academic path. From funding lessons to dissertation memories and the long-term impact of the PhD experience, this conversation offers wisdom, honesty, and joy for anyone navigating—or reflecting on—the academic journey.

Thinking about grad school but not sure where to start? In this episode, Brianna and Malitsitso sit down with Dr. Charity Brown Griffin, an associate professor of psychological sciences at Winston-Salem State University, school psychologist, researcher, and textbook author who centers the experiences of Black youth.

Dr. Griffin shares how she pivoted from a pre-med biology track at UNC Chapel Hill to psychology, found her passion in research, and learned she could go straight into a PhD program after undergrad. She talks about why funding mattered in choosing a program, how she intentionally sought out a Black woman mentor, and what it was like being the only Black student in her cohort while still finishing “on time.”

She also offers real talk on anxiety, perfectionism, and the reminder from her mentor that “the best dissertation is a defended one.” If you’re considering grad school, especially as a Black student or first-gen scholar, this episode gives you insight, reassurance, and the message that you really will be all right.

Dr. Moller reflects her journey in an evaluation PhD sharing the highs, the lows and the calls for grit.

Brianna and Malitsitso talk with Dr. Brandy Propst about what it takes to earn a PhD while working full-time and raising a family. Dr. Propst shares lessons from her research on Black women in higher education, the power of Sister Circle methodology, and the importance of community, courage, and self-care along the way.