about
Grad School Femtoring, LLC, founded by Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu, provides first-gen students of color with knowledge about academia to help them prepare for grad school.
our mission
The mission of GSF is to demystify higher education and empower first-generation students of color to reach their personal and professional goals all while leading with compassion, organization, and vulnerability
meet the founder
Dr. Martínez-Vu’s higher education femtoring journey started in graduate school in 2010 when she landed her first job as a graduate student mentor at the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center. It was through femtoring Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows that she uncovered her desire to pursue an academic career where she can help others.
In 2014, Dr. Martínez-Vu 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. She earned her PhD in 2016 and landed a job as a scholarship advisor at the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center, where she helped undergraduates apply for and win national and international merit scholarships. In 2017, she landed the position of Assistant Director for the UCSB McNair Scholars Program where she was promoted to Associate Director and ran the daily operations of the program.
After finding herself receiving frequent femtorship requests and answering the same questions, Dr. Martínez-Vu was inspired to start her own Grad School Femtoring Podcast and company to educate and help you make informed decisions in your pursuit of higher education and beyond.
I’m introverted and yet grew up doing theater most of my childhood, both acting and stage-managing
I’m a mom of two mixed race children of Mexican and Vietnamese descent
I’m disabled and have a chronic illness, which helps me be more compassionate with myself and others
I’m a proud virgo and people often tell me I’m the most organized person they know
Accomplishments
Among her specializations, Dra. Martínez-Vu has experience with the following: monitoring academic and programmatic progress of underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students; designing, implementing, and assessing academic programs to facilitate graduate-school preparation; managing, hiring, training, and supervising full-time staff and graduate students; writing grants, including federal grants, as well as college level and K-12 level teaching and curriculum development.
Her record includes 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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Providing first-gen students of color with knowledge about academia to help them prepare for grad school