Many of us consider graduate school a daunting choice we will eventually make. This change can be especially anxiety-inducing with having to juggle classes, research, being a TA, and, of course, your own well-being! Meet Lychee Tran, a Clinical Psychology Ph.D student who began her undergraduate career majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Being raised by two medical doctors, Lychee was always aware of health in relation to the physical body. However, during her senior year of her undergraduate degree, she decided to take an internship at the Seattle Children’s hospital. Here, she worked closely with many adolescents with various mental health diagnoses and discovered this was an aspect of health often underacknowledged. She also saw first-hand the difficulties many of these adolescents have atypical to a “normal” childhood. “They [the clients] have really poor treatment outcomes...I would see a lot of those kids come back, which is really heartbreaking”. This is the moment that inspired Lychee to steer her focus onto mental health and clinical psychology. “I realized that the best way for me to help these kids was to go to graduate school”, she stated compassionately. From then on, Lychee applied to various graduate programs. Many prospective graduate students have an idea of what graduate school looks like in action. You apply, get accepted, and then your schedule is immediately packed with research, teaching assistant work, and classes that prepare you for your career. Finally, you will be able to spend all of your time focusing on your academic passions! As follows, Lychee was able to delve more into her interests of the way our physical body interacts with mental health outcomes. Her work and research in the Teen Resilience Lab focuses on psychoneuroimmunology. She focuses on identifying biomarkers and biological mechanisms in our bodies, and their relationship with psychopathology outcomes. Her research is incredibly impactful and necessary for the foundational background needed to develop effective treatment outcomes. And, she is the first cohort of her Clinical Psychology Phd program! However, while all of this amazing work is happening at the forefront, Lychee had struggles with various aspects of her workload and Imposter Syndrome. “I think anyone you ask will say that grad school has definitely thrown them through the loop” Lychee explains. Like Lychee, many students are used to having a typical busy schedule of working full-time and also attending classes, and have learned to manage their various responsibilities well. She was even able to manage working 3 full-time jobs at one point! “I really thought that I could manage my time really well, and when I got to grad school I definitely had to relearn a lot of those skills”. Lychee struggled with adapting to graduate school at first, largely because of the importance of prioritizing all the various tasks she had to complete. As many students do, she had to make the decision of what responsibilities came first and were most important to her. Eventually, she came to realize that her research was what she was most
passionate about and the main reason why she was in graduate school. With this, she began to focus her energy on her research. She states, “I had to learn how to re-prioritize my work, and to be okay with that.” I think that many of us aspire to be perfect at everything we do, but this is obviously tiring, unsustainable, and unattainable. Lychee’s strategy to manage her workload is something that we can all look up to as stressed college students and faculty members. Despite possessing the necessary experience, abilities, and work ethic to succeed in graduate school, Lychee also discussed feelings of not belonging in her program and comparing herself to other members of her cohort. “I think it’s very normal to feel like that in grad school...even now today I can still feel like that”, Lychee admits. Imposter syndrome is a common phenomenon that many college students can relate to, especially for those who are the first of their family to go to college. Lychee touches on how this can be especially difficult in graduate school, because you are entering a new environment and starting with limited knowledge in your area of focus. This feeling can be very isolating and poorly impact the learning experience and mental health of students. However, it’s important to remember that these are quite normal thoughts to have, and Lychee encourages us to counter them with positive affirmations. She exclaims “Fact of the matter is: No! You are so qualified and you deserve to be here. It’s hard but you need to remind yourself of that”. Self-compassion is key to one’s well-being when experiencing self-doubt. Lychee and I also discussed the well-known concept of self-care. Yes, we are all aware of how important it is to do little things throughout the day that keep us sane in the midst of our schedules. However, making that time is often difficult or seems impossible to do in comparison to all of our responsibilities! Many students can even feel guilty for taking time out of their day to take care of themselves instead of working on their next academic project. Lychee speaks of her own experience of feeling guilty for taking time for herself, but then counters this thought, stating “How good of work is it going to be if you are just so exhausted?” Not only is self-care important to our own overall wellness, but it also contributes to one’s quality of work and ability to meet their full potential. Lychee encourages us to attempt to take time everyday to be active, to be mindful, and to do things that make us happy. Lastly, we wrapped up our conversation with some words of advice for prospective graduate school students. Lychee says to anyone considering applying for graduate school “You’re awesome at what you do, and never give up”. More specifically, she touches on the fact that it is okay to take your own pathway that works best for you to get to your destination. “I applied twice, and I didn’t get in the first time. You will get there for sure”. We often get caught up in this ideal manner of reaching our goals, but Lychee encourages us to not compare ourselves to others, and always do what is best for you. Lychee’s story exemplifies consistent change, moments of uncertainty, and self-discovery. I think the key message to takeaway from this conversation is that it’s not the process of change that
matters, but how one adapts to change and what you make of it. Throughout this process of growth, it is most important to have faith in yourself, perseverance, and the ability to grant time to the activities you enjoy.
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