Challenges, Risks, and Rewards

Dr. Huerta’s research team at the Pullias Center reflects on mixing a graduate education with research 

Authors:  Maria Romero-Morales, Edgar Lopez, Julie Nguyen, Maritza Salazar, Kyrie Sanchinelli-Salazar, Haille Thomas, and Rosalva Isidoro

Feeling uncomfortable is the key to improving creativity and learning, academic and professional growth, and, especially, finding success in graduate school and beyond. In general, master’s and doctoral programs require an extraordinary amount of work and commitment from its students. First-generation doctoral students need structured support to guide their academic success, especially those exploring an interest in the academy. Having faculty and institutional agents as mentors can help scaffold academic demands to smoothen their transition and navigational experiences. Truth be told, there were times when we felt overwhelmed with balancing multiple coursework, professional, and personal responsibilities, but we never felt alone through this journey because of our faculty-mentor Dr. Adrian Huerta. As we move beyond a master’s program, the first-year of the Ph.D. program, or a completed Ed.D. program, we can not help but reflect on our grounding and common experiences through this journey.

We took a calculated risk going into an unknown environment. Research does not have to be this vague term that students shun away from. As part of the Pullias Center research team, we were exposed to all of the different components that make up research: ongoing meetings, collaboration, reading, annotating, presenting, writing, interviews, coding, line-by-line editing, and so much more. To begin, we were not afraid of the word “research.” Even if we thought we didn’t have the experience, we still asked for an opportunity to join Dr. Huerta’s research team.  You should view all research work opportunities as learning opportunities and always ask questions. If you join a research team and do not understand what you need to do next, don’t be afraid to ask questions for clarification. Asking questions doesn’t mean you’re not capable of the work. Rather, it demonstrates your desire to learn and grow. Be open to working on new projects. It is in those opportunities that you learn the most about yourself and new ideas about what research is and can be. Lastly, even if you are not sure if research or a doctoral program is something you want to pursue in the future, there are transferable skills you will gain that will greatly benefit you in new career pathways.

We accepted that this next phase would be a challenge. Through this research opportunity, we have learned new skills and further developed other transferable skills to our academic lives as graduate students. Working with the Men of Color research team, we engaged in several projects that required time management, organizational and collaboration skills, and learning how to reach out to others for help. One of the first tasks we learned about was the process of creating annotated bibliographies. Within this process, we rose to the challenge and annotated more than 200+ articles. Here, we read each article critically to pull out major themes, identify the gaps, and synthesize information. In addition to creating annotated bibliographies, we had the opportunity to turn what we learned from the articles into tangible strategies and tips through a brand new monograph, websites, state-wide and national webinars, and conference presentations. For many of us, who had little to no prior research experience, we also gained a new skill in learning the process of coding interviews using Dedoose, an online software. Overall, the skills acquired as research assistants are transferable to future opportunities in student or academic affairs.

Through this challenge, growth is the key to reaching the next goal. As mentioned, the demands of a Ph.D. program and research require large amounts of time and dedication. At times, what seems like a small task actually contributes to larger pieces of the research project. Honestly, sometimes it felt mundane, especially if the research project did not align with our particular research interests or previous knowledge. However, reflecting on our involvement in different projects and tasks helped us make sense of our contributions, skill sets, and development as emerging scholars. As Ed.D., Ph.D., and master-level students, we constantly reflected on the work we engaged with and asked questions such as, “How does X contribute to my larger goals?” or “What skills am I learning from this project that I can apply to my own work in an internship at a community college?” The reality is, some courses and projects will not align with your interests, but it is essential to always take something from the tasks and projects in which you engage. Similarly, working on different projects in various stages has provided us with a thorough understanding of the research process and timeline that we would not have been exposed to if we limited ourselves to projects that only aligned with our own interests. 

While finding ourselves in a new space, we courageously branched out to find supporting faculty mentors to help us navigate the hidden curriculum of graduate school. It can be overwhelming balancing multiple hats through coursework, internships, family, and personal responsibilities. However, building relationships with faculty can often facilitate additional opportunities and support. Our faculty mentor, Dr. Adrian Huerta, an assistant professor of education, provided us with constant guidance at every step of our academic process to enhance our skills and motivation to complete our programs, but also understand the inner workings of how to connect research to practice at different levels. 

We recognized the fear of a new challenge, but we did not let it stop us from engaging in research projects to build additional research experiences. Doctoral students often engage with research within and beyond classroom settings, though it can take time to understand the research. Having faculty mentors can help scaffold research skills, particularly through theory selection and research application to our current projects in the Pullias Center. One of the most significant benefits to getting involved with research as master’s students was gaining exposure to doctoral-level work. Some of us were slightly intimidated by technical terms such as “coding,” “descriptors,” “code books,” and “protocols.” Under the guidance of our faculty mentor and colleagues, we gained hands-on experience in data collection, analysis, and disseminating information, which significantly boosted our confidence in our ability to pursue doctoral studies in the future. We also strengthened our skills through opportunities to network and collaborate with upper-level administrators, program coordinators, and student affairs staff through our involvement in practitioner-oriented conferences and training with the CSU system. Lastly, our work as research assistants allowed us to become content experts on college experiences for men of color, community college student-parents, and justice-impacted scholars in higher education. Whether we choose to pursue practitioner-oriented work or research after graduating, the knowledge we gained through this opportunity is invaluable. 

Lastly, we were not afraid to be vulnerable – we owned it!A majority of us identify as first-generation students. Five of us are women of color and one Latino man – a majority from predominantly low-income communities, and most of us spent our first semester as graduate students intimidated and minimized our potential contributions as we compared ourselves to peers in our respective programs. We knew academia was not going to reassure us of our capabilities, and were certain our vulnerabilities and anxiety would come to light as we traveled through this academic journey and be exposed as frauds. However, we intentionally worked on reframing or limiting the times we compared ourselves to others, and focused on our strengths. We, as a community, reminded each other that everyone’s journey and experiences vary, and can be good or bad depending on circumstances. The more we became intentional about individualizing our experiences, the easier it became for us to “own it” and focus on our individual goals and on the research projects for the semester. As time progressed and we reflected on our journey, we recognized that feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable was an integral part of growth. No doubt, the key to this year’s success was having structured support in the research team that held us together and contributed to our development.