Mason Grad Insider

Three quick notions to dispel from the get-go: 1) a mentor and an adviser are two different things; 2) your mentor does not have to be found in the realm of academic; and 3) graduate students can have more than one mentor.

As graduate students, we spend a ton of time reading. Whether it’s for homework assignments or finding literature for our own papers, we spend a bulk of our time poring over academic texts, journal articles, and more. Unfortunately, this often means that we end up leaving little time for recreational reading (also known as leisure reading or reading for pleasure). 

Besides all of your classes and a pretty piece of paper on graduation day, what do your tuition and fees actually get you at Mason? This is a question we have all asked, particularly when paying our student bill. Although the number on your bill may come as a bit of a shock, make sure you are considering of all the amenities, services, and activities that Mason has to offer. This post offers a small collection of thoughts, which will hopefully help you more fully appreciate and take advantage of the many benefits that come with paying your Mason bill.

A portion of Mason’s graduate students have worked and continue to work in the professional world, while pursuing an advanced degree; however, there is also a significant portion of our graduate population that has gone straight through college into graduate school without professional work experience So, I think it’s important to clear up any misconceptions.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers identified professionalism/work ethic as one of the 8 career readiness skills most valued by employers. Your ability to effectively demonstrate this skill is vital in your transition from an undergraduate to graduate student. So, what does professionalism mean?

At the Mason Grad Insider, we’ve written plenty of blog posts about self-care, meditation, well-being, and resilience as a graduate student. But what about when that’s not enough? What can we do when we’ve realized that our mental health has declined; when there are issues we’d like to work through; or, simply when we decide we need a little extra support? This is where external mental health resources, such as counseling or group therapy, can come into play.

You may have heard the phrase “I’m so burnt out” before. You may have said this phrase yourself – before grad school or during. This phrase certainly pops up more frequently around this time of year, with final papers, exams, and deadlines approaching. But what is burnout?

Deciding to get a masters’ degree and then a PhD didn’t change the way that I saw community engagement and service connected to my career and what I did on my own time. In fact, it might have further solidified it. In this new role as now a researcher and scholar, I see community as inexplicably tied to our work as graduate students.

When I’m starting a study session or settling into an evening class, there’s nothing I love more than doing it with a fresh cup of coffee or tea. Although my time at Starbucks is coming to an end as I will be starting my counseling practicum soon, I’d like to impart some Starbucks order suggestions and wisdom to all of my fellow graduate and professional students.

A lot of time in grad school, we talk about finding a mentor, but recently, one of my writing groups had a long conversation around us as mentors and I decided that not enough attention or conversation is given to graduate and professional students as mentors ourselves.