Your New Journey: How to Thrive in Graduate School as a Person of Color

By AJ Cade

Higher education is not the most welcoming of places for students who are from an underrepresented community; however, as the world moves further into the twenty-first century, more of us are earning graduate degrees. Written informally, Your New Journey is a guidebook for students who are looking for tips from someone who has already successfully navigated through the pitfalls of earning a Master's or Doctorate. Filled with personal anecdotes from the author, this book details how to prepare, apply, attend, and graduate while thriving in graduate school, along with additional information on resume writing and the numerous careers available for someone with a graduate degree.

Your New Journey: How to Thrive in Graduate School as a Person of Color is about you. How can you go about your journey through graduate school, and most importantly, what steps you can take at any point in your life to set you on that path. You will want to save and revisit this book throughout your life because of all the advice it offers.

Topics inside of this wonderful book include:

• How to apply to graduate programs
• How to start and finish a Master's or Doctoral degree
• How to pass comps and other graduate school hurdles
• How to prepare for and apply to jobs after graduation
• Resume writing tips
• How to deal with racism and place-ism in academia
• Much, Much More!!!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: America's Historian
• Release date: Sep 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798988841715

AJ Cade

AJ Cade is a retired United States Marine who earned two master's degrees and a PhD, and he has worked for numerous organizations from the corporate realm, NGO's, and the federal government. AJ has toured universities across the United States, informing students from underrepresented groups what they need to know to get into and thrive inside of graduate school, and now he imparts that knowledge to you.

Book preview

YOUR NEW JOURNEY

––––––––

HOW TO THRIVE IN GRADUATE SCHOOL

AS A PERSON OF COLOR

AJ Cade

––––––––

America’s Historian

Maryland

America’s Historian LLC 

Maryland

www.americashistorian.com

Copyright © 2023 – Anthony J. Cade II

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Published by America’s Historian LLC, Maryland, United States of America. First Edition. E-Book.

Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and their hard work by doing this.

Cover Design by Anthony J. Cade II

Published in the United States of America.

First Printing Edition, 2023

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cade II, Anthony J.  1988-

Your New Journey: How to Thrive in Graduate School as a Person of Color

LCCN: 2023944324

ISBN: 979-8-9888417-1-5

table of contents

List of Illustrations & Tables

Illustrations

Tables

Disclaimer

Dedication

Introduction

Who am I?

Who is this Book For?

What Will You Learn?

Chapter 1: A Lonesome Journey

Your Superpower

Diversity in Academia

Women in Academia

Academic Circles

Diverse Universities

Mental Preparation is Half the Battle

NFG

Chapter 2: Establishing a Support System

Group Support to See You Through

Leaning on Loved Ones

Campus Support Team

Give as Much as You Get

Funding Your Academic Career

Chapter 3: Developing Your Goals

Developing Your Personal Goals

Developing Your Professional Goals

Developing Your Academic Goals

Maintaining Your Motivation

Chapter 4: Choosing the Right University

Start with Your University & Your Major

The Devil is in the Details

Time to Apply

Academic Advisors: An Underutilized Resource

Decision Time!

Chapter 5: Starting Graduate School

Operating Expenses

A Plan for Every Year

Roll Call!

An Imposter is Among Us

The Backbone of Graduate Study

Let Off Some Steam

Chapter 6: Getting Your Master’s

Paths to Graduation

Which One?

Forming a Graduate Committee

Writing Your Thesis

Is Publication Important?

Graduate Certificates

Peer Support

Chapter 7: Earning Your Doctorate

Making the Right Choice

What is a PhD Committee?

Comprehensive Exams: What to Know

Nailing Your Comps

Crafting Your Prospectus

From Research to Dissertation

Support Systems: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Chapter 8: Taking the Next Step

Now What?

Career Prospects

Resume Crafting

The Imposter Returns

Chapter 9: Being Your Own Boss

Building an Empire

Legal Responsibilities

Taking It to the Next Level

Freelancing

Picking a Niche & Method

Becoming an Authority

Motivational Speaking

Scaling Up

In Closing

Seek out Financial Literacy

Avoiding Burnout

Is Freedom Free?

Believing in Yourself

List of Illustrations & Tables

Illustrations

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (p 22)

Non-Specific vs. Specific Goal (p 42)

Deciding on Your University & Major (p 59)

Tables

Differences Between an MA and PhD (p 53)

Organizing Information on Your Potential Universities    (p 63)

Resume Example (p 169)

Skills & Work Experience Annotation (p 174)

Understanding Business Structures (p 194)

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed inside this book are solely of the author, Anthony J. Cade II, and America’s Historian LLC. They do not reflect the Federal Government, the Department of Defense, or any corporate entity mentioned, nor have they provided any endorsement of this text. All questions and concerns about the following e-book should be forwarded to America’s Historian LLC, Maryland.

Dedication

I dedicate this work to my children, Cordell, Anthony, Peter, and Zara. They inspirited me to complete my PhD, and I hope this work inspires children like them on their journey.

Introduction

So you are considering applying to graduate school in pursuit of a master’s, doctorate, or an alternative graduate degree? Good for you! This is your new journey, one that should be paved towards a subject or field of you choose out of love, and it is a choice that could fulfill you for the rest of your life if properly thought out.

Going through the higher education enrolment process is quite stressful, but what happens when you feel underrepresented, unheard, or like an imposter? Graduate school can feel like a cumbersome journey for many people who come from traditionally underrepresented groups in academia. Between wanting to do right for others, feelings as if you are by yourself, and feeling like you just do not fit in at graduate school, the pressure can be crippling. However, it does not have to be that way. If you are holding a copy of this book, you have already taken the first step towards ensuring your journey into and through graduate school is one where you will thrive.

Who am I?

My name is Dr. Anthony J. Cade II, but all my friends call me AJ. Because you purchased one of my first books, you can consider yourself one of my friends, and I invite you to address me as AJ as well. I am a medically retired United States Marine with multiple combat deployments to my name. I earned an associate’s, bachelor’s with honors, and two master’s degrees before my obtaining my PhD. I love history, working out, technology, writing, and animals. Most importantly, I am a father to four beautiful children, and similar to my kids, I hope to guide you along your journey to success.

When I write about feeling underrepresented in graduate school, I mean it literally. I was the only veteran in my cohort for all my graduate degrees. I was the only person willing to disclose I had a medical disability, one severe enough that it forced me to retire from the Marines. I was the only married man with children as well. I was even the only one working full-time in my chosen field during my doctoral studies. I was also the eldest person in my cohorts. However, what shocked me more than any of that was that I was also the only Person of Color in my incoming graduate cohorts. I do not write these words to reproach any university of impropriety, but I do write all of that to make it clear: I know what it means to look around the room and think to myself, I am the only one.

After touring hundreds of universities across the world for various speaking engagements—and meeting undergraduates and graduates who felt as I did—I crafted the following guidebook for individuals from all walks of life who plan to or are already in graduate school and feel as if they are an outlier with little to no assistance toward their success. As your friend, I want you to know that I am here for you, and I want to give you all the tools you may need to complete your journey.

Who is this Book For?

This book is for anyone who has ever felt marginalized or as if their voice did not matter. For first-generation students who do not have family members or friends to pass on knowledge and experience. Your New Journey is for people from diverse and culturally rich backgrounds who doubt themselves in a predominantly white, male-dominated education system. This is for those unaware of the level of diverse excellence in abundance inside of higher education. Most importantly, it is for those of you who feel like an outsider in academia.

If you want to move through the phases of graduate school without feeling weighed down by a demographic on a piece of paper, then this is for you. If you would like to know how to cultivate your voice, find a support system, and develop a feeling of inclusivity amongst your peers, this book is definitely for you.

Finally, if you are ready to broaden your horizons and achieve the success you have always envisioned for yourself—the success you are undeniably worthy of—this book is for you.

What Will You Learn?

Your New Journey is about cementing your position as a graduate student and a professional in this modern era. This book examines uncomfortable topics and shines a light on some of the systematic racism prevalent in higher education. However, you will arm yourself with tools that will help you cultivate your circle of trust to combat this system, and this book will ultimately help you to complete graduate school with a map for your future afterward.

You are the master of the future. You command your destiny. You have the power to be anything you desire, and it is all in the palm of your hands. It might be a cliché, but to say the world is your oyster is an understatement. It is imperative that you know this as we move on, and you keep that thought in your head throughout your academic journey. As you read this e-book, I want you to continually remind yourself that you will thrive during and after graduate school, and if so, by the time you finish reading, you will have the mindset and the tools necessary to do so.

Above all else, working your way through graduate school takes grit, mental resilience, and dedication. Several techniques inside this book can help you hone all of these abilities.

––––––––

Here is a quick run-through of what I will be covering:

⧫  How your unique background is your secret superpower.

⧫  How establishing a support system early on will help you through your difficult days.

⧫  Why developing your goals—on both a professional and personal level—will keep you motivated.

⧫  Force you to ask yourself, do I need graduate school?

⧫  How choosing the right university can impact your experience and career prospects.

⧫  How to navigate the early days of graduate school.

⧫  How to pursue your master’s or doctorate degree.

⧫  The art of crafting a resume.

⧫  Why starting a business or a freelancing career might be the next best step for your career.

I purposely set up this book for you to read and return as needed. It is your one-stop shop for your entire graduate school journey! Everything you need to thrive in and after graduate school is included here, so do not lose this book.

We have a long and exhilarating road ahead of us, so let us begin.

A Lonesome Journey

G

raduate school—by design—is the place where you feel tested to your limits. Not only are the demands of academia more intense than undergraduate study, but you also have to contend with feeling alone in a place that originally was not designed for you to succeed. It can make you feel like nobody knows what you are going through. However, your unique situation presents you with an opportunity that most of your peers do not have. Namely, only you can complete this journey, and none of your peers will see the world as you do. Furthermore, there will be this insidious little voice in your head that tells you that you are not meant to be there; however, the truth is nearly everyone has that voice—even your professors. That voice will be there throughout your journey, so do not feel as if you are going crazy. Instead, realize that you have a lot of preconditioning from a young age which you must let go of. When you have spent your whole life getting the side eye for being in a certain place or felt unaccepted for who you are, it is hard to let go of that narrative in your mind. Simply put, you have been through enough to know which situations you will feel welcomed and which you are going to feel uncomfortable. It is a perfectly normal survival mechanism.

However, you are not reading this book to simply survive.

You are here to thrive.

So, we first need to work on your self-confidence and self-love. You need to tell yourself, "I am meant to be here. I am worthy of being here. Focus solely on this and yourself at the beginning of your new journey. Anything else will put too much pressure on you without producing positive results. There may be expectations for you to do well as the sort of ambassador" for everyone back home or others with similar backgrounds to your own. There is this idea that if one of us succeeds, we can blaze the trail for all of us to do the same. This is amazing, and it certainly does help kids and others to know if they have a similar goal that it is obtainable if they work hard. However, the expectation that you will personally resolve decades—possibly centuries—of systemic issues alone is too much for one person to bear at the onset of their career. This is just as much your journey as it is about uplifting your community. It is more your journey than anything else. It is not selfish to focus on your success before considering how you can assist others to thrive. Save altruism for the end and focus on yourself at the onset. You freely give kind and encouraging words to others, tell yourself those exact words daily and remind yourself that you can and will succeed when you feel alone.

Your Superpower

As human beings, storytelling has always been our way of connecting and passing on essential information. Before history and knowledge were recorded on a cave wall, it was spread orally. Stories connect us. They unite us and help us find common ground with one another. This has remained the same in our modern world. Today, we bond over movie characters we have fallen in love with, share a mutual loathing of villains, and discuss the character’s archetypes in our beloved books. Stories make the world go around while connecting everyone in it.

With that in mind, consider how your story conveys you as someone who is unique and has an inimitable perspective. Your background is fascinating and unlike so many others who came before you. It represents strength and the power of determination. You have a fantastic opportunity to tell a story your peers will never experience. Thus, it is a story nobody else in your department can tell or research. If there are commonalities with your peers, that will be a window for you all to connect, but your unique viewpoint gives you an approach toward research that ensures you stand out from the rest.

Past the point of connection, your unique paradigm allows you to generate new ideas. That is the whole point of diversity. When you have a bunch of similar people with similar views, they will problem-solve in similar fashions. While their ideas will be unique to each individual, there will be a common thread that might not allow them to see beyond those shared perspectives. You have a different view of the world, which can make problem-solving on your own and in a collaborative setting more productive and rewarding. Lean in on that, and embrace the times when you have different answers from the rest. Revel in the instances where you do not agree with everyone else, and when it is all said and done, know you carved out your path for success.

It is essential to note that, historically, people from underrepresented backgrounds are seen even less in higher education; this is not lost on your administrators or supervisors. As you move through life, you will see that while there is always going to be one bad egg who hopes you fail in every situation you enter, most of your supervisors want you to thrive. They understand the importance of you being in graduate school, not just for you and your community, but for the betterment of the university in question. Whenever you start to feel as though you do not belong, reassure yourself of how much you are wanted and needed right where you are. If that is not enough, remember that AJ and his guidebook are always here for you, and most importantly, fuck those small-minded people. I doubt they are worth the effort to think about, so ignore them and thrive in spite of their hate.

Diversity in Academia

Now, let us talk about a few of the countless pioneers you can admire during your journey. These people proved they were academics, scientists, poets, writers, and inventors first, and their background was secondary to their success, even though the struggle to climb the ranks was not lost on them. They persevered in spite of fear, intimidation, condemnation, and belittlement. They all decided to be the best versions of themselves—regardless of the implied or literal cost.

Take Mae Carol Jemison as a prime example of the ability to overcome the challenges of her time, challenges which still silently pervade our society today. As a child, Jemison always dreamed of becoming an astronaut. She was an incredibly bright, creative, determined child. This paid off in a big way for her by the time the 70s rolled around. In 1973, Jemison became one of the only black female students at Stanford University. She was only 16 years old at the time by the way. Can you imagine what it felt like as a young girl of color surrounded by mainly older, white men? One would assume she felt intimidated—perhaps a little out