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The Importance of Cultivating a Sense of Belonging

How does our current sense of belonging shape our future professional endeavors? In this episode, Dr. VaNessa Thompson, an academic program manager in Rackham, discusses research she has conducted on belonging—both in her dissertation and in U-M graduate students. Explore how seeing belonging as a relationship that we need to tend can help us get the most out of our graduate experience, and the U-M resources that can help you do just that.

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Guest

VaNessa Thompson (she/her/hers) loves the classroom. She is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Oakland Community College English department. She has also been an adjunct instructor at Lawrence Technological University, Oakland University, and the Engineering Society of Detroit. Through her appointments, she has taught a variety of topics, including professional communication, technical writing, and leadership. She completed her Ph.D. in educational leadership while being a CORE program coordinator for the Center for Multicultural Initiatives at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. VaNessa’s love for social media (@heydrvanessa) is more than just a hobby. She is continually exploring new ways to utilize social media to connect with students both inside and outside the classroom.

Resources

Rackham Student Groups

Resources for Student Communities

Transcript

Sam Hobson:

Hey, welcome to GradWell, a limited series podcast that explores various ways the University of Michigan can support its graduate students and their journey to greater well-being in our everyday lives. Brought to you by Rackham Graduate School.

This season we’ll be talking to members of our academic community whose research intersects various dimensions of well-being. I’m Sam Hobson, a PhD candidate and a GSSA in Rackham’s Professional Development and Engagement office. My fellow grad students, it’s time we start placing as much importance on ourselves as we do our work. You’re worth the effort.

VaNessa Thompson:

If you feel like you belong at a place, institution, group, your well-being within that group and outside of that group is going to soar.

Sam Hobson:

Hello, hello. Today’s resource is Dr. VaNessa Thompson, Academic Program Manager in Rackham’s Professional Development and Engagement Office. We’re going to be highlighting research VaNessa has done on graduate students’ sense of belonging, exploring the intersection of the emotional and social dimension of well-being.

I am excited to have you with Dr. Thompson and me today. All right, we’ll jump in. Dr. VaNessa Thompson, she/her/hers loves the classroom. She’s an academic program manager in Rackham and also an adjunct faculty member at Oakland Community College’s English Department. She has also been an adjunct instructor at LTU, OU, and the Engineering Society of Detroit. Through her appointments, she has taught a variety of topics including professional communication, technical writing, and leadership. She completed her PhD in educational leadership while being a core program coordinator for the Center for Multicultural Initiatives at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. VaNessa’s love for social media at @heydrvaNessa is more than just a hobby. She’s continually exploring new ways to utilize social media, to connect with students both inside and outside of the classroom.

Hi VaNessa, thank you for being here with me today.

VaNessa Thompson:

Oh my gosh, thanks for having me. When you hear your bio like that, it’s like, “Oh my goodness.” So thank you so much.

Sam Hobson:

Yes, you’re official. I know, sometimes to hear somebody speak about you and you’re like, “Oh, wow, I have done some things.”

VaNessa Thompson:

Right.

Sam Hobson:

VaNessa, to start, how did you get into this type of work?

VaNessa Thompson:

I think I fell into it, maybe stumbled, tripped into it. I think I got my first glimpse of kind of sense of belonging and the importance that has, especially in the higher education space. Actually, when I was an RA at my undergrad institution, I specifically worked on a camp program, which was college assistance for migrant participants. So these were children of either migrant workers or themselves who had experience with migrant work and I had that whole floor to myself, and that was a huge culture shock for me with a lot of the students coming from different places around the country as well as outside of the country, and so I was just able to connect with them, which was probably my favorite time being a resident assistant.

However, my floor was constantly targeted with my bulletin boards getting ripped down or some of my residents were getting targeted or followed to their rooms and it was just like, “Okay, I see that you have access to college, but it’s not just that. It has to be larger than that.” So really cultivating that. So when a bulletin board got ripped, put it back up, or I would have three or four bulletin boards set up because I knew it was going to get ripped down, or hey… Those students that weren’t participants in the program, like, “Hey, let’s have a buddy system. Let’s connect and kind of create that safety for them.” That was the first time that I looked at my privilege as being someone that didn’t necessarily have to experience migrant work, but also was born here in the States, but I got to see that as well as being a part of a marginalized and minoritized community being a Black woman.

So that juxtaposition, I got to see how that shows up with those residents first, and then I kind of went in. That always came through in all of the work that I’ve did. I worked at Lawrence Tech. A lot of those students realized that they loved the environment, but they didn’t know about the whole college experience. What does that look like to go to a private institution where it’s almost a thousand dollars a credit hour versus going to another institution where it’s a little bit cheaper? All of those little nuances that impact the sense of belonging and seeing if they could even thrive in that environment.

The students used to call me the plug because I would just like, “You need a financial aid question, you need to go talk to this person specifically and ask for this. You need help with your disability support. I got you. Here’s my friend Megan. Go talk to her over there.” And just being really intentional about how I connected with students, but that really gave them a sense of belonging and they felt like they not only deserved to be in that space, but they earned a spot in that space, which was really cool.

And then my previous position as a core program coordinator for the Center for Multicultural Initiatives, that was probably where I got to dive into it. Not only was it one of the topics of my dissertation, but just to see the active sense of belonging, doing that in real time, and how that complements the students’ efforts inside and outside the classroom.

Sam Hobson:

That sounds like such a rich journey that you’ve been on.

VaNessa Thompson:

Thank you.

Sam Hobson:

Absolutely, and I’m glad that you’ve been able to, I don’t know, take these steps. It seems like it’s really shaped your perspective in a way that gives it a lot more depth than maybe some of us would have. Something that I got from your experience is that this distinction between access and belonging and how sometimes we don’t necessarily recognize that the two are not the same, and so if someone’s given access, therefore everything should be fine, right?

VaNessa Thompson:

In theory.

Sam Hobson:

In theory. And so with that being said, what is belonging? Why does it matter and how does it relate to our well-being emotionally and socially?

VaNessa Thompson:

Oh my, that’s such an epic question. Belonging is everything. You know when you feel belonging, you feel like invested in the community. You know when your family or your chosen family, when you feel like you belong, not only do you feel like I am making movements, but you’re also impacting the collective, the community as a whole. If you don’t feel like you belong there, your investment is not the same. But also you don’t feel like your contributions aren’t making that much impact as well, and that can impact your well-being. There’s tons of research, and I’ve dived into it so many times, but at the end of it, at the root of it all, if you feel like you belong and whatever reasons why you feel like that belongs, whether that’s financial, whether that’s spiritual, whatever the case may be, but if you feel like you belong at a place, institution, group, your well-being within that group and outside of that group is going to soar.

Sam Hobson:

Why is it the case do you think that it is both inside and outside of the group? Wouldn’t we think that within the boundaries we feel this way, why does that sort of extend outside when we’re no longer interacting with the same people?

VaNessa Thompson:

Also, it’s kind of one of those, if you do it once and you feel like you belong, you’re more likely to take opportunities and chances again in other spaces. So using myself as an example, I don’t think I would have taken an opportunity to apply for a new position at an institution that I hadn’t been working at University of Michigan if I didn’t feel that sense of belonging in my previous position. So to know that that is an opportunity, that there is a choice.

A lot of students that pursue graduate studies, yeah they want the degrees and stuff and to collect them like Pokemon cards because that’s important, but also if you felt like you had a decent or more than decent experience in undergrad, you’re more likely to apply to a graduate program. If undergrad didn’t work for you, you’re not going to apply or you’re going to look at it like why would you want more debt or more coursework or anything like that? Why would you want to do that? A good chunk of it is belonging.

Sam Hobson:

That is fascinating. I never recognized how one’s belonging in one’s current circumstance leads one to reach for, go after, apply for, pursue I guess is the word I’m looking for.

VaNessa Thompson:

Yeah.

Sam Hobson:

Leads one to pursue further circumstances that are in alignment with the thing that you maybe are currently experiencing or in, and that a sense of belonging is sort of the foundation for that future pursuit. I don’t know, that makes sense. It makes total sense when you say it.

VaNessa Thompson:

Belonging is that net. If you’re looking at a trapeze artist, I love The Greatest Showman, the soundtrack, if you want to sing it, just let me know, but anyway, the trapeze artists are swinging around right? That sense of belonging is that net. So if you fall, if you fail a course. Okay, if you feel like you belong at the institution or with a program that you’re in, yeah, it sucks that you failed that course, but you’re more likely like, “Okay, I’m going to try again because I want to stay here.”

Sam Hobson:

That makes sense. That makes sense. And so it seems like belonging is the connectedness that we feel to… Is it specifically to people? Is it specifically to a larger group in terms of an institution or an organization? What are the boundaries?

VaNessa Thompson:

Oh, I love that. What limitations? I think that that human element is probably that first. If there’s a heuristic, you have to have a connection with someone or some group of people. A lot of the students that participate in our diversity equity inclusion certificate really felt a sense of connection with Kelly, the senior academic program manager with her facilitation style and how she showed up, and because of that, they felt more connected to Rackham as an institution because a lot of them didn’t know what Rackham was.

So because of Kelly’s awesomeness, that became a gateway of looking at all the other resources and availability to connect with Rackham as an institution within larger institution U of M. So I think the biggest thing is that you do have to have some form of connectivity with an individual that lets you be seen, lets you feel heard, but that is not where it stops. That’s where it starts.

Sam Hobson:

How does academic success connect to this?

VaNessa Thompson:

Oh, it connects to everything. With my dissertation, I did looking at remote summer bridge students and how it compares to in-person summer bridge students. It was so much fun. Would do it again in a heartbeat, but what I found out was that the students based off of institutional metrics of success, like GPA, retention. Those two academic years is actually the lowest in the program, right? But in terms of connectivity, feeling supported, advocacy, resilience, self-efficacy as a student was through the charts.

But that is not a metric that institutions tie to and how do you measure that? So you do a couple quizzes and stuff like that, but students are quizzed out unless it’s tied to a grade, but if you do see those, this is my disclaimer PSA, if you do see those, fill those out because it definitely leads to larger conversations and larger resources. So you see that yes, my GPA may not be the best, but in terms of how I feel like I belong at the institution, but also I can continue to thrive in the institution, a GPA can’t measure that, but it’s measured in how I show up and measured in how I share, how I talk about the institution, how I talk about my time there. You see it in that way.

Sam Hobson:

And so what I’m hearing is that we don’t necessarily have the best metrics for measuring our humanness and then how that relates to our ability to succeed. A lot of our metrics are measurable, observable, material, and so all of the energetic intricacies that are required for us to be successful, we aren’t able to capture, and therefore we aren’t able to necessarily do that great a job of promoting.

VaNessa Thompson:

Yeah, I think as institutions, I get why we have those metrics in place, but I do challenge us as institutions, especially as we’re working with the next generation of graduate students and students as a whole to really expand on that.

Sam Hobson:

This brings me to my next question of why are we even having the discussion about belonging? Why is the sense of belonging, the individual’s responsibility? One would think that if I feel like I don’t belong here, it is here’s fault. Why is it on us to even talk about it at all?

VaNessa Thompson:

I love it, because it’s participatory. You have to actively do it. You have to actively engage with it. So I could have all of the programs, but if you don’t show up, I can’t do anything. So when I talk to students and they don’t feel like they belong to the institution or feel like they belong, I ask them, what do you do? What is within your control? Now, federally, we would love to change a lot of things in terms of accessibility for graduate school and things like that, but since we can’t, what are some things that are within your control that you are bringing to the table? So for me in my graduate program, again, when I was doing my doctorate work, two of those years I was doing this from home. So a lot of my friends, I found a sub cohort within my cohort, and that was my connectivity.

We pulled ourselves out like, “You got paper due? Let’s go. Want me to edit it for you? Let’s get it done,” right? But that’s how I actively stayed engaged with my cohort. So if anyone’s feeling like, “I don’t feel like I belong here.” My next question is, “How are you actively participating in the environment?” And if you can’t do that safely, because there’s a variety of reasons why that might not be the case, let’s talk about why we can’t do that safely and then see if there’s any other ways that we can find to either reframe or also reposition our belonging and try to go from there. And then if we can’t do that, then we always have options, but definitely those are my first two steps that I go with students.

Sam Hobson:

So what I’m understanding is it’s a two-way street. It is a relationship that we are having or that we’re trying to build and cultivate with this larger group, organization, institution, and all relationships take work on both sides in order for it to be a healthy one, and so it is our responsibility to do our part, to be active participants in our own well-being and to not expect for our well-being to be managed, handled, provided for by something that doesn’t know us.

VaNessa Thompson:

And if we want to get into it, these are historically white institutions. So me as a Black female, I was never thought of in terms of mind contributions. I was thought of as cattle if we want to get into it. So being an institution where I know that that is your foundation, and not to say that anyone else thinks about this now. Because I’m going to speak in good faith. But knowing that though, I have to actively engage. So when I show up on campus, I see a student, “Hey, how you doing? What’s going on?” I’m actively engaging in the environment because I want to be in the environment. Even with all of the foundational things of how and historical things of how it got here, I’m still going to show up and so that I have to participate in it, otherwise I’m just a piece on a chessboard.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, so we can’t expect to sort of passively experience this journey that we’re on and expect for it to work out for us. I hear you. But what about those for whom passive participation still contributes to their feeling of belonging for whom this institution was built, and therefore they don’t have to engage in this as active of engagement, as other folks who are already dealing with so much else. Now, I also have to double down, triple down on the action that I have to be able to ensure that I have this sense of belonging in this space. It feels like a lot, VaNessa.

VaNessa Thompson:

Oh, Sam, I’m with you. It’s not fair. I ain’t saying it’s easy. Just keep trying people. No, this is disgustingly hard. Speaking for myself and I just defended probably a year ago, I don’t even remember, but keeping all of that in mind, “So I have to think of all of the things of how I show up, how I navigate the space, and now you’re telling me, VaNessa, with your Pokemon degrees that I have to now do this again? I have to show up even more? Are you kidding me?” Or other people just passively, they just exist.

Their identities allow them to engage and participate in belonging without even really thinking about it. So when it comes to alumni and those that are graduating, you probably see a larger, even in my previous institution, the Black Alumni Association is amazing. It is a gang and I love it. They just show up all the time. They show up in so many spaces, so many places. They donate scholarships, they do all of that because they actively participate in their sense of belonging, whereas other students that didn’t necessarily do that have that same engagement. Again, I am not saying it’s easy, and I’m not saying it’s fair No. Those things are not coming out of my mouth, but I am saying that there is some investment and we you do that and there’s appreciation with it.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, so what I’m hearing is you get out what you put in.

VaNessa Thompson:

You do such a great job at succincting that.

Sam Hobson:

It makes sense because sometimes I feel like it’s really easy to lean into the unfairness of it all, but the rich experience, the rich sort of energetic presence that one is able to cultivate as a result of putting one’s energy into their experience sounds like it feels a lot better than a passive engagement with whatever you’re experiencing in the moment. Yeah, that makes sense, that makes sense. And I’m hoping that I can maintain this reframe because it’s so easy to lean into like, “Oh, it’s not fair. I am tired.”

VaNessa Thompson:

[inaudible 00:19:21] I’m tired, but I could also love something and critique it, right? I could feel like I belong and that’s when I know what I truly belong somewhere when I feel the safety to critique it. So I’m like, “Yeah, we’re doing something, but y’all? Could we be doing this better or differently?” And if I feel that safety and able to do that, that’s how I know I truly belong for me specifically.

Sam Hobson:

I like that. Thank you.

VaNessa Thompson:

No worries.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, so you conducted focus groups on specifically belonging specifically with Michigan graduate students. What did you find?

VaNessa Thompson:

We did 12 focus groups with Michigan graduate students from an array of degrees and disciplines. We had a lot more master students than PhD students that show up too, which is also really exciting. They had a diverse background and what we found… And this is all students’ perception. The students talked about specifically targeted resources and programming, specifically master students. So when you think of Rackham and graduate school, a lot of our minds default to PhD or fully funding, but a lot of master students don’t have fully funded programs. They’re also here for a shorter duration of time. So really trying to figure out ways to get master students actively engaged because those students, they want to be engaged and want to be connected, but trying to figure out how to do that with their schedules and things like that is also a challenge.

So that’s one thing we definitely found. Another was that community and mentorship. Again, like you said, we’re communal beings, so we want to be connected and I think also this graduate student if I had to put a prototyper of kind of a case study of who this person is, a lot of these graduate students, their undergrad experiences were in the pandemic. And so in terms of the traditional and I use the air quotes of mentorship or how to connect with people and network, they may not know how to do that or feel comfortable in doing that.

So really trying to create some opportunities to do that for all students, not just specifically PhDs or not just even specifically master students, not just specifically domestic or international, really trying to do that across the board.

And then we talked about professional development and career services. So looking at the differences between those that want to go into industry, those that want to go into academia. The focus groups really enforced that sense of belonging is not a monolithic experience. Everyone’s sense of belonging and how they achieve it and why they achieve it and how that shows up is going to look profoundly different according to students’ identities and their experiences within University of Michigan as well as outside of the University of Michigan.

Sam Hobson:

What do you think a solid sense of belonging looks like for graduate students?

VaNessa Thompson:

A solid sense of belonging for graduate students looks like that they can show up as their whole selves, whether they disclose what their whole self is or not. I shouldn’t have to disclose that, “Hi, I’m an anxious bean.” No, it should just be a space where I feel like I can bring my whole self, whether I tell you all the things about me or not. Also, a space where students can lovingly critique and provide feedback. Feedback with feeling is how I like to frame it. I could love the space I’m in, but realize that the space has some more to work to be done, and if I’m able to share that freely, bring my whole self to the piece, right? I feel like that’s a huge component of sense of belonging as well as feeling like I’m seen. So not just seeing like, “Oh, hey VaNessa, you walked across the stage.” But you see me at the programs, you know like, “Oh, hey, did you like that X, Y and Z?” Or those small little bits of personality of connectivity is going to go a long way.

So I think that’s the biggest thing, and I think also as institutions to not just rely on the student to meet us all the way that if we expect students to meet us halfway, we got to meet them halfway as well and not just do like, “Okay, we have a program.” No, let’s do something a little bit more than that. Because that’s what the students are asking us to do and so if we meet them halfway, I think we can both get not just a good sense of belonging, but also successful alumni and alumni that are going to praise our institution and our programs. That’s the dream. Realizing that it is going to be a lot harder than anticipated, but that’d be the dream.

Sam Hobson:

No, we’ll get there, we’ll get there. What I’m hearing is that perhaps the communal collective aspects of our sense of belonging are able to not necessarily combat, but help us better navigate the more material aspects of our belonging that may not be so easily and immediately addressed whenever we’re in an institution like this.

VaNessa Thompson:

Facts.

Sam Hobson:

Good, okay. That makes sense, that makes sense that the stronger sense of connection that I have with my community the better I’m able to navigate uncertainties or difficulties that pop up in the material world and the better they’re able to help me navigate those.

VaNessa Thompson:

You don’t feel like they’re targeted at you. You know what I mean? When you start feel like “I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” You realize like, “Oh, that’s just a blip.” Versus “No, I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad semester or graduate degree program.” If creating that space and expanding on that a little bit I think will definitely help us in the big picture, but the implementation of that and the execution of that, I don’t know that, but I think it’s feasible. I think we can get there though.

Sam Hobson:

Yeah, we will, I trust that.

VaNessa Thompson:

Yes.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, so if a grad student here were interested in cultivating a greater sense of belonging, where could they go, what should they do?

VaNessa Thompson:

Come holler at me. No, I’m just kidding. Partially. I would definitely say do proactive engagement. So don’t necessarily wait for opportunities to come to you. Really actively seek out, attend events… And I think this is also good practice of the professional world or the industry world or even going into academia. You’re going to have to go to these events for people to see you and stuff like that. I wish you didn’t have to go. I wish you were able to kind of do challenge by choice, but I do know when I do attend those events, people not only remember me, but they seek me out for things. So someone passed this recommendation that I participate on this podcast because they saw me or they saw me present something and I was like, “Oh, okay, cool. I don’t mind talking to Sam. Sam’s great.” You know what I mean?

But I wouldn’t have gotten that or even wouldn’t even thought about even participating as one of your amazing guests if someone didn’t mention it, but if I didn’t attend that program or put myself out there, I don’t know if I would’ve even had that opportunity present itself. Or it might’ve taken a little bit longer. You might’ve saw me in season three versus season two.

I think the other thing is build your network and network is not necessarily above and below. I feel like people always are thinking about networking above. Get that cold email to your LinkedIn person. Not just that, but looking on the people in your class that are to the left and the right of you. Again, my smaller cohort are some of my trusted colleagues. One is in industry, two are back at the previous institution that I worked at. I am still connected with them, but I also know if there’s an opportunity, like this opportunity was recommended by one of my [inaudible 00:26:59] cohorts, that’s what we call ourselves. But they were like, “Oh, you could do this. Here’s this job.” Right? Again, if I didn’t put myself out there and connect with them in that way, I don’t know what this position… Again, you might’ve saw me season three because I would’ve applied for it. But just been two years versus a year ago.

I would also encourage people to utilize support services early. When I was doing my master’s program, on of my uncles passed away during the program and while I was working on my stuff, but I had no idea how to navigate that, how do I show up or do anything like that. So utilizing CAPS or other resources like that was profound. If I hadn’t used those resources, I don’t know how hard or much harder it would’ve been to complete my master’s degree because of it. But they helped me not just with the mental check-ins, but also like, “Hey VaNessa, you’re showing up in this way. Let’s talk about that perfectionist and how it’s showing up in your homework.” And I’m like, “First of all, don’t clock me like that, and second of all, you’re probably right.” But I sought that out and that definitely helped me out tremendously.

I also encouraged graduate students to embrace informal learning. Not every learning and lesson comes from the classroom or from your PI. Sometimes you have to go through experience and exposure to get that education. So the hidden curriculum that is shown up a lot of how to talk to your PI, how to send an email, all of that, you have to kind of stumble a little bit to figure out how to do it correctly. But you not doing it correctly is not a reflection of how awesome you are. It’s just that you didn’t have the experience or exposure to do it. So realizing those soft… the soft skills even though they’re not soft, they have hard impact, but all of those things like how to work together in a group project, that has huge implications because you’re going to be working on group projects in your career unless you are in your own business.

But even that, you’re working in a group project because you’re the lead of the group project. So just acknowledging that not everything you’re going to have is going to come as a foundational thing. Sometimes you got to do it as it happens, and I think that’s where you get the best lessons when you are able to do that.

I also challenge people to give themselves grace and space. There’s a reason why only so many people do graduate school. There’s a reason why. Because it’s hard. It’s so hard. But hard on a multitude of levels, but just because hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible. So give yourself some grace and space.

I use a metaphor, I did on a TikTok and someone was like, “Oh, that’s so amazing.” That a lot of us are comparing ourselves with the other Avengers or Justice Leagues in our classroom, in our world, right? We’re comparing ourselves to Superman while we’re just out here, I’m just Robin, but people aren’t comparing us against the other Avengers or Justice League. They’re comparing us to themselves and those are regular people that are not going into graduate programs. They are looking at what you’re doing and like, “Oh my God, I could never. You’re that.” So instead of comparing yourself to people within your cohort, just don’t do it at all, period, because everyone’s in their own lane, but give yourself some grace.

And then seeking out those diverse connections, and I challenge people to think outside of their lunch table or the everyday people that they interact with. If you’re in our certificate program and you’re in the engineering school as a graduate student, talk to someone that’s in Marshall. I guarantee you there’s some similarities, but we just got to be open and willing enough to kind of see what those are. And again, those are going to be again, some of those connections that you may not even know you need later on through your graduate program here, but also just in life. So I encourage everyone to seek those diverse connections for sure. So that would be my advice to anyone.

Sam Hobson:

Wonderful, thank you. I trust that this will resonate with those for whom it’s needed. Okay, so VaNessa, the importance of mentorship has come up with other guests and in past conversations, you and I have talked about how mentorship can support our sense of belonging. Can you help us understand how?

VaNessa Thompson:

Yes, mentorship can play a foundational role in fostering sense of belonging for graduate students and it’s particular crucial for students that are navigating a new and different, and also sometimes challenging academic environment. And so, I definitely think that if you have a good sense of belonging, not only do you feel comfortable and rooted in looking for your mentors within the institution or within your department, but you’re also more likely because of the success in that, you’re more likely to look mentorship once you graduate from the institution. Whether that’s you go into academia, finding mentorship through other professors and things like that, or that tenure process, there’s a lot of mentoring there. Or if you’re going into industry, how to connect with someone that has been at the firm or the organization for a longer period of time and what that looks like.

And then thinking about looking at modeling the empathy. So I think a lot of times people think that students have to actively look out and seek out a mentor. But I think also mentorship could just fall in your lap. So I think if you display empathy in the classroom or you display those things, mentors will actually probably seek you out to see if you want to get mentored. So it’s not always you Google searching. Sometimes those opportunities show up because you showed up in the best way. But you gave yourself some grace, you showed up as your authentic self and that was able to be received and also other opportunities could show up. So it’s very holistic approach and I wish that was that all the time, but I do see that some students that express that.

“I was able to show up and I was able to do this, and then I found connection with someone here in this office and I didn’t even think about that.” So I definitely encourage you all to seek that out, but then also ask the tough questions and see if that’s somebody that you want to potentially be mentored, but also realize that that is super important. And my mentors are always talking me off the ledge of the diving pool of like, “Hey, let’s not go all in on that research project. Let’s take a step back. Let’s explore.” Having someone like that is just amazing. So I challenge everyone to hold some space for a potential mentor.

Sam Hobson:

What can a mentor look like? We’ve talked a lot in this season about specifically our advisors. Can mentors exist outside of that?

VaNessa Thompson:

Yes, they can. I participated as a graduate student in kind of the Black graduate space where I got my doctorate at Oakland, and it was something that faculty just at the time were like, “Hey, I think we have won a large percentage of Black and African American students in our programs, but we want to actually also hold some space, talk about the nuances, and some challenges that they may be experiencing.” I ended up getting mentored by this doctor and age-wise, we were not the same age. I think she may be younger than I am, but she has her doctorate and I’m like, “I’m trying to get like you. Oh my gosh, what are we doing?” But I was able to get mentored by her in this way and maybe in life I was able to help mentor her in another way. So it was reciprocal, but this person wasn’t my dissertation chair, they didn’t show up in my classrooms or my classes or anything like that.

I just participated in kind of a listening circle that was way profound. And also the byproduct of that listening circle, I helped co-author a chapter in a book because of that experience. So I do think you can look at stuff and leverage things outside of your classes and things like that, and I would even say look at your department and see what they have available. So a lot of students looked at like, “Yeah, this person’s not my direct advisor or anything like that.” They were able to kind of connect with people within their department, but they might not be within their program if that makes sense.

So I encourage people to do that. I also think students can be mentors. So I think looking at those that are a little bit ahead of you, so hey, “Don’t stay up late on that. You don’t got to do that. This is how you navigate.” Or, “Don’t take these two professors together.” Or, “Don’t put these two on your committee because they pedagogically have different perspectives.” But you don’t know that. You wouldn’t necessarily know that, but a student that’s a little bit further along would. And that’s where you get that participatory historical knowledge that gets passed down. You’re the participant, so you get to figure that out, but you don’t necessarily have to get that from the institution. You get that from those that walked a little bit ahead of you when getting that. So I definitely want to encourage you, but you have to do it in order for you to get it.

Sam Hobson:

So what I’m hearing is that showing up puts you in the space of unlimited potential and unlimited possibilities, and we can’t know where life will take a lead. We can’t determine that without putting ourselves in the moment to allow for anything to happen. And then hopefully, ideally, the best of everything will happen as a result of giving our energy to a particular moment, but we have to be in that moment in order to do so, and from there, just anything’s possible.

VaNessa Thompson:

Yes. Oh my God, I feel like this could be like a musical like, “Cue the track.” I don’t know what the track will be, but it was so great.

Sam Hobson:

The track has been cued. VaNessa, are there any other resources that you can share with us that can help Michigan graduate students cultivate a greater sense of belonging?

VaNessa Thompson:

I can. So a lot of the things that are coming out of the focus group, the findings are actually things that we’re trying to implement right now. One example would be the Rackham Master’s Initiative for Professional Development. That’s really a cool Avengers title, but there’s a group of Rackham staff that are working on ways to promote master’s students professional development, and we’re even seeing how we can do that even as early as grad school one-on-one and figuring out ways to implement that and give some targeted programming for those students, especially since they vocalized that they feel like a lot of things are geared towards PhD students.

I am also going to plug that certificate program. We’re working on it and currently revamping it, and I think that the new revamping is going to be so amazing and so crucial. I also think it’s going to meet the students where we are currently in this kind of federal ecosystem that we’re in, and so how do we show up with this information that is so important and so vital, but how does this tie into potential research? How does this tie into potential industry options? All of those fun things. And so we’ll have an opportunity to explore that. So keep a lookout when that is available.

I also want to encourage students to look at their department’s initiatives and see what they do in terms of that sense of belonging. Go to those events. I say give everything three times, is like third time’s the charm or three strikes and you’re out. So give it three tries and see if you can can gauge it. That way, also, you have some statistical information on whether or not that’s for you. You see what I did there with the research?

And then I also encourage anyone to reach out if you’re definitely confused or questioning or just overall just wanting more experience or exposure to your professional development options, after your graduate degree, our career services Kirsten and Anna, those are my people. Oh my gosh, they get me together. So I definitely encourage everyone to explore that as an option because you will definitely get some things that you may not have even thought about as opportunities for you for the next phase of your career. I love them, I’m a fan.

And then if you do have issues or barriers of engagement or connection for whatever reason, whether that’s department or PI or things like that, we do have a department that is geared towards just that, that talks about, this is how you could possibly work on this, or this is what we may need to have this taken to the next level, or whatever the case may be. And that is their whole opportunity. That’s their whole positionality of what they do. So definitely explore that. So even if you’re in a yucky situation, you don’t have to be there for long. You just have to know where to go, and so definitely seek out Rackham as an option.

And then also check your email, because we send tons of cool things, cool events and all of that fun stuff. So I definitely encourage you all and hopefully I get to connect with some of the graduate students that may be listening to this podcast. And also in terms of participating in events, also participate in events that you wouldn’t necessarily go to before. I use myself as an example. I went to my first Motor City Pride a couple of years ago, and that was the best experience I’ve ever had as an ally. It was like, I say I’m an ally. I say I show up. How do I really show up? It was such a great experience, and because of that experience, I keep that in my mind as how I show up, making sure I share my pronouns, making sure that how do you want to be called? How do you want to be addressed?

By thinking about that, because that’s at the forefront of my mind because I had that experience. But if I didn’t have that experience, it would be a struggle for me to constantly have that in the forefront of my mind. So I challenge everyone including myself. I’m challenging VaNessa too, to do the events that you might not necessarily identify or that don’t necessarily speak to you completely and go in there as just an observer, not as someone that’s necessarily contributing, because again, that might not be your space, but just kind of go in and just have an open mind, an open heart, an open spirit, and see what you get out of it. You’d be surprised.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, new experiences lead to new perspectives, which lead to new intentions towards new opportunities.

VaNessa Thompson:

And new opportunities for research, because you never know.

Sam Hobson:

You never know. Okay, thank you VaNessa, do you have anything else you’d like to share before we go?

VaNessa Thompson:

I just want to share that you are not alone in your graduate school journey, but I can show you better than I can tell you. So if you have any opportunities where you’re like, “I need to just talk to somebody and I just heard this girl with a capital N on this podcast,” feel free to reach out and I’ll do my very best to show up, but again, the only way I could do that is if you give me an opportunity to do so. And as well as Rackham, because Rackham has your back. We got you.

Sam Hobson:

VaNessa, thank you so much. Thank you for such an informative and lovely conversation, I’m very grateful.

VaNessa Thompson:

Thank you so much for having me.

Sam Hobson:

Okay, here are three takeaways from this episode for your wellbeing journey.

One, belonging is not a passive experience. Cultivating a sense of belonging means that we have to show up, especially those of us for whom this institution was not built, and although it might not feel fair, it will likely feel worth it.

Two, a sense of belonging shapes not only the opportunities you’re exposed to now, but also the opportunities you choose to pursue in the future. It’s an investment. Not only in your current state of wellbeing, but also in the person you’re becoming.

Three, belonging isn’t just about your deep connections, but your wide ones as well. So make sure there’s variety and diversity in your network and your experiences. You never know who or what may be an important part of your journey.

You can check out our website for all the resources VaNessa mentioned and more at rackham.umich.edu\gradwell. You can reach out to VaNessa with any questions you have at vpthomps, T-H-O-M-P-S @umich.edu. And you can contact us about the podcast at [email protected].

Make sure to join us next time when I chat with Danielle Rosen-Scruggs, PhD candidate in developmental psychology for the first of a two-part series on the imposter phenomenon. I’ll see you then.

Hey, hardworking grad student, thank you for tuning in to Gradwell. I hope you can take something away from this episode with you. If you like what you heard, be sure to write a review, like, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. For more information, check us out on social @umichgradschool.