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1. Describe the relationship to the graduate student. Spouse

2. Describe what your picture represents. This is a picture I took while walking our dog the other morning. I usually try to walk her in the morning while Kayla’s getting ready because it gives her more time to sleep in before she has to get to work. She gets home and goes to her classes online a couple days a week, so we don’t always have time to take Evie on a walk together. This way she gets a walk and Kayla doesn’t have to worry about making time for it in the morning or at night after class.

3. From your perspective what does supporting a doctoral student entail? Having patience and realizing that sometimes they’re just stressed out and it has nothing to do with you. Especially if they have work and class and all the other things to worry about. I guess other types of support might be making sure chores get done like laundry, dishes and mowing the yard. Sometimes I have to make sure she eats dinner.

4. Can you think of a time you supported a doctoral student and it made a big difference for them academically or mentally? I don’t know if this made a big difference academically, but I know it made her happy. She said she still had to go pick up stuff for work after class one night and I just said, “I’ll get it. What do you need?” I wanted to give her one less thing to worry about, and I think that meant a lot to her in the moment. Should probably do that more often.

5. From your perspective, when has your doctoral student needed the most support since starting their program? Probably recently. Her work has gotten really crazy so she comes home worn out a lot. I just try to take stuff off her plate when I can because I know she gets overwhelmed at times. I don’t want to add to her anxiety.

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1.    Describe the relationship to the graduate student. A co-worker/friend.

2.    Describe what your picture represents. Kayla works full time and goes to school. Her schedule gets pretty full, and sometimes she has to close her door and block out distractions. I try to be respectful of the time she needs and redirect people who might be wanting to interrupt.

3.    From your perspective what does supporting a doctoral student entail? I think this can mean a lot of things. Sometimes it’s financial. It can also be emotional—just listening when they need to vent. Or you can provide support by being flexible. I know a lot of her classes are a night, so she can’t always come to things because of that. I know it’s not personal.

4.    Can you think of a time you supported a doctoral student and it made a big difference for them academically or mentally? Last year, her mom had surgery and she had to go to Tennessee to take care of her. It was around final exams. So I just made sure that everyone in our unit knew that she was out of the office for a good reason and not to bother her with stupid stuff. I also worked with the office to send her a care package to make sure she was taking care of herself and knew we were thinking about her!

5.    From your perspective, when has your doctoral student needed the most support since starting their program? I’m not sure. She doesn’t really ask for help. But it was probably back when her mom was sick while she was trying to finish up classes.

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1. I am her husband.

2. It represents me trying to simplify key concepts of math and statistics that the researcher had difficulty understanding from the professor.

3. Keeping them motivated, making sure they have someone to vent to, and allowing them time to focus.

4. Only when it was a area or course that I was familiar with and perform on a daily basis. I was able to assist and give some tips that may not have been explained clearly by the professor or within the course material.

5. In the initial year when she first began the program and needed to get acclimated with being in the classroom again.

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1.     Describe the relationship to the graduate student.

o   I met her on deployment in Afghanistan in 2019 and after that we became best friends.

2.     Describe what your picture represents.

o   My picture represents the two of us supporting each other during our academic endeavors, we have similar backgrounds such as being in the Air Force, masters level social workers and having an interest in the criminal justice field and when we discuss these different aspects of our lives we have a mutual understanding of how difficult it can be to balance it all and sometimes we just need to talk to someone that understands.

3.     From your perspective what does supporting a doctoral student entail?

o   Supporting a doctoral student means that you are there when they need it most, whether its helping with a project last minute or needing to vent about a course. It also means being their support when they do not feel supported.

4.     Can you think of a time you supported a doctoral student and it made a big difference for them academically or mentally?

§  It was earlier this year when her grandmother passed away and she tried pushing through her grief knowing she was not ok. I was able to get her to see that she needed that time to grieve and she needed to let her students as well as teachers know that she was not ok mentally and needed time. I think it made a huge difference mentally and academically because she was able to recenter herself and be there for her family and later pick up with her students and course work.

5.     From your perspective, when has your doctoral student needed the most support since starting their program?

o   I think the situation described above is when she needed me the most. I also support her when has difficulty starting papers by encouraging her and allowing her to bounce ideas off of me.

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1. Describe the relationship to the graduate student. She is the "light of my life"... but to be less corny, I'm her spouse.

2. Describe what your picture represents. It represents the craziness and unpredictable nature of our lives, and also the joy of overcoming obstacles together.

3. From your perspective what does supporting a doctoral student entail? It entails being there for ANY kind of support they might need. This sometimes means being there for emotional support, and at other times it means celebrating victories (large AND small) together. It also means making sure that they always know you and others have their back.

4. Can you think of a time you supported a doctoral student and it made a big difference for them academically or mentally? I can think of several times but none that I feel the liberty of listing here.

5. From your perspective, when has your doctoral student needed the most support since starting their program? Like any journey in life, the challenges act like a pendulum in that they come and go. The trick isn't just being available when the momentum is working against goals but also when things seem to be going well.

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1. Friend/Fellow Doctoral student

2. This has been my mantra lately because grad school is hard and it can make you want to quit a lot! I like to quote because it allows you to acknowledge that it sucks, but pushes you to keep going!

3. Providing space to vent! A lot of grad students wear many hats in their lives; student, spouse, researcher, parent, and teacher just to name a few. I think providing a space for the grad students to get all of that stuff out and letting them know they aren't alone can be therapeutic!

4. We try to schedule lunches together just to have a mental health check-in and catch up since we don't have classes together this semester. I'm not sure how impactful they are academically, but I always leave feeling more refreshed after getting to turn off the student side and just spend time with her!

5. Probably recently as she is finishing up classes and moving into research. A lot of the courses we have to take are not easy and it makes it even harder to do them when they don't feel relevant to your research or area of study. It's difficult trying to balance being the student and the researcher at the same time!