Category: The Write In: Grad Student Narratives

Welcome to The Write In: Grad Student Narratives, a podcast featuring the stories of Yale PhD students who take us on their journey and offer strategies for writing—and being—in graduate school. I am your host, Dr. Julia Istomina, and I get to work (and chat) with Yale grad students in my role as the Associate Director of the Graduate Writing Lab at The Poorvu Center. Each episode features a specific theme or question based on the conversation and story of our guest. Guests include Grad Writing Lab Fellows who are either in the later stages of their PhD Program or have just earned their degree. The scope of each conversation steers toward reflecting on their overall time spent at Yale while focusing a lens on the ways they managed a particular challenge or opportunity in their process.

Staying Embedded in University Life on Your Terms with Dana Hayward

Staying Embedded in University Life on Your Terms with Dana Hayward

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You’ve embarked on an Ivy Plus Exchange program to do archival research in Portland, Oregon in your fifth year as a Sociology PhD Candidate. Covid hits, the archives close, what are you going to do? In this episode, we hear Dana’s story about finding a place within university life after more than a decade of trials, tribulations, and ultimately, successes with her “pivoted” dissertation project. We learn that time wasn’t wasted time, but instead a pause that allowed Dana to reflect on what about universities she loved and wanted to keep, and what she wanted to let go. If you’re curious about what I like to call “academic-adjacent” roles within the university, or roles that directly connect to and work with university scholars and teachers, this episode is for you.

Leveraging Skillsets in Hydrology with Mario Soriano, Jr.

Leveraging Skillsets in Hydrology with Mario Soriano, Jr.

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When asked to give a presentation in your master’s program, Mario’s story shows that it could lead you to a doctoral program at Yale by way of a watershed connection and eventual mentorship with an interested professor. In this episode, Mario Soriano Jr. describes his educational pathway from his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at the University of the Philippines, to his master’s degree in Sustainability at the United Nations University and University of Tokyo, and to his PhD in Environmental Studies at Yale University’s School of the Environment. Through these programs, Mario both enhanced and leveraged his skillsets in the study of agricultural water systems. Mario also demystifies how STEM students often find their labs. Along the way, we’ll talk about why it’s important to attend workshops tailored to grad writing in earlier stages of the degree program, like prospectus panels, especially to manage feelings of imposter stress.

Designing a Writing Process that Fits and Heals You, with Chihiro Larissa

Designing a Writing Process that Fits and Heals You, with Chihiro Larissa

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Are you an “Architect” or a “Scrounger” in your writing process, or maybe a little bit of both? Join Chihiro and me to talk about designing a holistic writing practice that meets your style and deadlines, especially for interdisciplinary research methods. Chihiro also talks about her efforts to promote wellness resources for graduate students and healing patients in hospital settings through music therapy. While your research doesn’t have to tie directly into real-world applications, Chihiro’s study of ancient medical notions of holistic health emphasizes the importance of weaving architectural and musical beauty into places of care.