about
Grad School Femtoring, LLC, founded by Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu, empowers first-gen students of color with knowledge and tools to help them prepare for grad school and beyond.
our mission
The mission of GSF is to demystify higher education and empower first-generation students of color to reach their academic and personal goals all while leading in a compassionate and social justice informed way.
meet the founder
Hola! I’m Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu and my higher education femtoring journey started in graduate school in 2010 when I landed my first job as a graduate student mentor at the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center. It was through femtoring Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows that I uncovered my strong desire to pursue a career where I could be in service of others.
More about me and my work: In 2014, I co-founded the Chicana M(other)work Collective, a project informed by the gendered, classes, and racialized experiences of mothers of color in academia. This project has turned into a podcast, blog, and book, The Chicana M(other)work Anthology, published by the University of Arizona Press in 2019.
I earned my PhD in 2016 and landed a job as a scholarship advisor at the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center, where I helped undergraduates apply for and win national and international merit scholarships. In 2017, I landed the position of Assistant Director for the UCSB McNair Scholars Program where I was promoted to Associate Director and ran the daily operations of the program, until I left in 2021 to start my own coaching business and move my family abroad.
I now specialize in supporting first-generation students of color who plan to or are navigating graduate school by teaching them writing, organization, goal-setting, lifestyle design, mindset work, and financial literacy skills. My mission is to empower my femtees in reaching their academic and personal goals, no matter how big or wild those dreams are! You got this!
I’m introverted and yet grew up doing theater most of my childhood, both acting and stage-managing
I’m a mom raising two mixed race children of Mexican and Vietnamese heritage in Porto, Portugal
I’m neurodivergent and chronically ill, which helps me be more compassionate with myself and others
I’m a proud virgo, recovering perfectionist, and people often tell me I’m the most organized person they know
achievements
My other academic and career highlights include:
-supporting the academic progress of first-generation, low-income, and nontraditional students of color
-designing, implementing, and assessing academic programs, courses, and workshops to facilitate graduate-school preparation
-managing, hiring, training, and supervising part-time and full-time staff and graduate students
-writing for university grants, including federal grants
-college level and K-12 level teaching and curriculum development
-teaching and public speaking for groups of 20-200 people
-organizing and participating in 30+ conferences
-managing budgets of up to $1.8M
-and receiving 12+ prestigious grants and awards.
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Supporting first-generation students of color in reaching their academic and personal goals through a compassionate and social-justice informed lens.