Sharing some words of wisdom with other GCU learners...

Wow....I haven't written in a VERY long time!  Life, researching and writing has definitely taken over my life!  I haven't forgotten about my blog and think about writing often.  I have so little time!  Better late than never!  In this post I am going to talk about an opportunity that I was given and took full advantage of.  I will catch you up on life later.

My GCU boyfriend (as I call him), Todd, is my doctoral enrollment counselor.  His only job was to enroll me in a program almost three years ago.  Well....we clicked and have been in contact ever since.  He calls to check on my progress and congratulate me for finishing classes, etc.  I know that he has a twin brother, is working on his degree, just bought a house with a pool, etc.  We have encouraged each other to keep pushing forward on a professional level.  Well, about 2 months ago, he called to inform me that GCU would be having a "test" doctoral residency here in Atlanta and that even though I wasn't required to go (because I finished my required two in Phoenix last summer and the summer before), that I should consider getting involved.  I emailed the lady in charge of setting it up and offered to assist.  She responded and asked if I would like to participate in the Emerging Scholars Conference and speak to the group of about 75 attendees about my experience in the program and words of wisdom that I had to offer them.  Of course I said yes!!!!

So on Monday, I drove to the hotel where it was being held, ate dinner, and had the opportunity to speak.  Three of us spoke and I went last.  The two ladies before me just finished their doctoral journey so it was inspiring for me to hear them.  I offered the perspective in between the attendees journey and those that finished.  First I told them about myself and what I did for a living.  Below are some of the points of advice or nuggets that I offered them:

• You will get finished.
• Celebrate small successes.
• Make sure your family and friends understand what you are taking on...you will need their support.
• View your paper as 5 small research papers as opposed to one large dissertation.
• As you are progressing through your classes, write towards your topic.  That way, when it comes time to write your dissertation, you will have a list of resources to pull from.
• Find a few dissertations that you love that are based on your topic and pull references from their reference pages.
• Block out time to write (ie. every Sunday afternoon).
• Never take too much time off from your research and writing...you'll get too far behind.

Lastly, I left them with a quote from Toni Morrison, 

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

I am so glad that Todd pushed me to step out and do this.  I know that my words were well received as I had people waiting to talk to me after I spoke asking for my contact information, etc.  It filled me up and made me realize that I do have a voice to offer and a bigger role that what I think!  It also inspired me to really get going and finish my journey!  July 17th is my goal and then I'll be DR. NATASHA RACHELL!!!  I cannot wait to accomplish this goal and figure out what's next for me!