Between my mother’s perfect passion for holiday decor, and my dad’s gift wrapping with the world’s strongest tape, I find myself stuck to the warm memories and nostalgia that being home for the holidays brings about. I also find comfort in my brother and I honoring each other’s quest for minimalism and non-consumerismo approaches to life, yet trying to find the perfect gifts for each other. The holidays bring about a welcome kind of busy, one that completely contrasts from my chaotic life as a doctoral student. I hear a lot of doctoral students saying that their family “just didn’t understand” and it was really hard to create boundaries of space, time, and expectations during this period of doctoral studies. ...
When I was in my 20’s I fantasized about moving abroad. I dreamed about moving to a Spanish-speaking country, spending my days at the beach, dancing my nights to salsa or bachata, and regaining fluency of the first language I ever learned. I spent so much time researching ways to move abroad. Looking for companies or people that could help me achieve my dream. I didn’t know what to look for or who to ask and I cursed myself for not learning about the wonderful world of study abroad until after college. I would start applications for jobs in the Dominican Republic, or Spain, or Colombia, but I never got around to completing them and taking the first step towards...
By Katherine Casey Spengler, PhD October 11, 2019, a phone call from the breast care clinic confirmed that the lump I had found in my left breast – 7 months after a clear mammogram – was malignant. At the time, I was a doctoral candidate in SDSU/CGU’s Joint Degree Program in Education, striving to complete the rough draft of my dissertation by the January 7 deadline. The call came when I was in Los Angeles for work and I spent the three hour drive back to San Diego in silent shock. My first thoughts went to my husband Joel, and daughter Anna, and then to my mother, who had lost our beloved father to laryngeal cancer twenty years ago: how...
Reka Barton The Scholarly Sewist Reka is both a doctoral student and a Lecturer at San Diego State University. She teaches Literacy Methods for teacher credential candidates and Visualizing College for undergraduate students. Prior to her doctoral studies she obtained a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Teaching at The Scholarly Sewist. She then spent ten years as an elementary classroom teacher in dual language and inner-city classrooms. Her research interests include dual language education and educational experiences of Black students via multimodal research methods. Reka is the Founder and Creative Director of The Scholarly Sewist. David Burroughs II Graphic Designer & Brand Strategist David is a Tony Gaskins certified life coach and brand strategist working at the intersection...
Reka the Scholar Over 15 years ago, I walked the grounds of The University of Virginia during Move-In Weekend. I was embarking on my college experience at the #1 public university. I thought I would major in accounting and be a tax attorney. I wanted to only have to work during tax season and spend my seven months off reading up on tax law on a beach. Clearly, I didn’t research that career option enough, and when I saw the rate at which my peers were failing ECON 201 (the weeder class for the McIntire School of Commerce) I knew that path was not for me. By the end of my first semester, Psych 101 was the only course that...
