335: International Student Challenges and Career Options with Dr. Analía Gómez Vidal

335: International Student Challenges and Career Options with Dr. Analía Gómez Vidal

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[00:00:00] Welcome to the award-winning grad school Femtoring podcast. The place for first gen Bipoc to listen in on inclusive grad school stories and learn about personal development and productivity tips. This is Yvette Martinez Vu, a certified coach, consultant and author, and I will be serving as your Femtoring, providing you with insider knowledge to help you reach your personal and professional goals.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Grad School Femtoring Podcast. This is your host, Doctora Yvette. Today we are going to be discussing the topic of the international student experience. We're gonna be focusing on [00:01:00] how to navigate and overcome graduate school and career barriers. This is a topic that has come up actually privately for me with consultations and even clients, and so I'm delighted to have an expert guest today.

Our guest is Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal. She's a bilingual multihyphenate professional. She founded AGV Services LLC, a coaching and consulting practice that helps international students and professionals in the US and abroad gain awareness that accelerates their growth to achieve their life and career vision in the US and globally.

Throughout her own journey as an international student at workers, she has successfully pivoted careers several times while working through multiple visas in the United States. I am thrilled to have you on the podcast today. Welcome, Doctora Analia.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Thank you so much for having me, Dr. Yvette. I'm very, very excited for our conversation today.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: [00:02:00] Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. I always love to invite folks on the show. Whose voice I can amplify and who has something to say that like's directly tied to my audience. And so I think. Especially now in light of so much going on with our current administration in the US, I think it's more important than ever to address like what's coming up.

Mm-hmm. And even some of the barriers that might be showing up for international students. So I'd love to hear more about your journey as an international student in the US and even just a little bit more about your career and life and how you arrived to where you are today.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yeah. Yeah, so I was born and raised in Argentina and I was born in a family that was based like very much shaped by the immigrant story.

All my grandparents were all immigrants. My parents were first generation, and I was raised by all of the elders in my family who had [00:03:00] all of these stories from, you know, coming. From like all places in Europe trying to like escape from poverty and figuring out what was next from them and just like studying, starting from scratch.

And so growing up I've always kind of like got that from them. And then in addition to that, I loved learning languages. I kind of like wanted to travel and, and so over time. The one thing that my family had always focused on and invested in was education. We, we did well, but you know, like we, we made like ends meet.

But, but the one thing that was always a yes, whenever we requested it was books and education. So when I graduated high school. I convinced my parents to let me do a short exchange of student experience in the US as a way to practice my English after so many years of [00:04:00] learning the language, and that was my very first experience of being abroad by myself, and that like fundamentally changed my language.

I remember writing in my journal in English because I was still practicing even after coming back how I felt that this was experience that was showing me what my life would look like, even though I didn't know exactly what that you know would entail. And now it's been half a lifetime since. I can absolutely see and validate that past version of myself.

So long story short, as part of that process, I decided to pursue a PhD in the us and so I was admitted by University of Maryland where I graduated with my master's in PhD in government and politics right before the pandemic and for the past. 10 plus years I've been navigating life as an international [00:05:00] student, international worker, going through multiple visas, multiple career pivots in and out of academia.

And I am currently a self sponsored, a business owner working full-time at the founder and career coach at a GB service, LLC.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Wow. What stood out to me about your experience is that. You had been preparing for this for a long time, and then you had an early experience that really was formative for you with, you said your exchange program.

Mm-hmm. That then later on led to you pursuing a PhD in the US. That's really interesting because I feel like not everybody is equipped or prepared to travel internationally, let alone experience and exchange program where you're getting a sense of what it's like to live in another country too. Yeah. So I think that's really particular to your story, and I think that a lot of [00:06:00] international students may have some shared experiences of like these, like early moments that were really formative and that shaped the reason why they're pursuing their studies in the US. So I'm curious. Mm-hmm. One of the things that you've said, or that I know that you've said before is that international students play a completely different game during graduate school. Mm-hmm. And so, you know, I'm curious about, a little bit to hear more about your experience in graduate school and how you felt like you had to quote unquote play a game.

And also what does that mean more broadly in terms of the implications of like how to best support international students?

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yeah. So I could spend hours talking about this, honestly. But I think like two areas where I feel like it's important to kind of, that, that illustrate what I mean by this is the first one is coming into the decision and preparing to even be able to start [00:07:00] grad school in the US as an international student.

I think that. This is a conversation that I have pretty frequently, you know, and, and there is a lot that gets said about meritocracy and who succeeds and in what ways. And my personal view on this is, you know, like merit only can exist if there is access, and access is a privilege. And, and that was my experience.

So to prepare to. Apply for grad schools in the us. There was so much that needed to happen before to even signal that I was competitive for it. So a lot of international students might complete graduate programs in their home countries like I did before even applying for a program in the us. We also have to navigate all the investment that goes into both learning about what the options are, preparing for the exams.

[00:08:00] I remember when I was preparing, I was using my savings and I was using the paychecks from my job at the time to pay for the tutors to get trained for and taking the GRE and the tofl and all of these things. And I even remember it was at a time in Argentina where there were changes in the. Percentages that you get charged for expenditures with your credit cards in dollars.

Mm. And so I actually had to even rush my application process. So instead of like doing it in a staggered way, I basically had to submit all of them together so that the cost of a applying for grad school wouldn't like spike as as a result of the timing. And so there, there is a lot that goes into.

Getting the information, you know, like feeling, even that sense of, okay, I am definitely going to do it. And overcoming that barrier of, you hear about these [00:09:00] professors that are like very famous and like the gap and distance to like reaching out to them feels like much bigger than if you have the exposure and, and you're able to share spaces in, uh, in, in, in an easier or, or more.

Like closer away. And so you, you kind of like have to lean into that a little bit of that dilution of being like, I'm going to go for this. It, it's feeling uncomfortable. It's a lot of hard work and I still, I'm going to go for it. And so like, I think that that's one example of it where there is a lot of investment that that goes into it for us to even signal that we are.

Competitive candidates for this. And you know, I'm not even mentioning the fact that for a lot of us, it's not even our native language. So there is also that additional element where, in my case I had been studying [00:10:00] English since I was eight years old and I studied, you know, like at school. And then I also studied like, like classes in addition to that.

And so there was a lot of that investment that happens. So that's one part of it, but then that doesn't get any easier once you get into grad school. So a couple examples of that are, you know, like on one hand you have the, your stipend, and as an international student. You may not have as many resources available for funding your research with like your dissertation, your fellowships, and so on.

A lot of those opportunities are opportunities that are limited to US citizens and US residents. So I remember putting together five different grants that I had, like a small grant that I was able to kind of like gather through different sources to be able to fund my survey studies to, to do my work.

But that [00:11:00] is one example in which you have to think about it in a different way because you know that the resources available are not going to be the same. The other element that also plays out is that you have your stipend and you cannot do overloads as an international student. And in addition to that.

There is also that a lot of universities charge additional fees for international students. So you already have a low stipend that also gets some portion of it taken out because of additional fees and you do not have access to overloads to compliment your income. You have to make it. So you explain that a little bit more.

The not having access to overloads. Yes. So what that means basically is that because of your current visa, whether you are in an F1 or a J one Visa. You are only allowed to work for a very specific amount of hours and for specific spaces, right? So like you can work on campus up to like 20 hours and no more than that, and that is the portion that [00:12:00] most often covers the, excuse me, the stipend.

Of the graduate student so that you get that income, but you don't, you don't, you're not allowed to get an additional source of income through work on campus or wor work elsewhere. And there are very specific limitations to what type of work you can do, for example, through internships in summers, depending on the summer and depending on the stage on your, in your graduate program that you're in.

So what that means. Is it, it's twofold the way that I see it. On one hand there is the financial constraints of it, where like you have to make it work. Again, we go back to the access part of it where like if you have savings or if you have additional support that can allow for you to fund your way through graduate school, it makes it easier.

But if not, like you are playing a very different game financially than your domestic colleagues. But then the other element of that. Is that a lot of those overloads or additional assistantships that you don't [00:13:00] get access to are often the sources of potential long-term partnerships and collaborations and even co-authoring, right?

Which also translates. The lack of access to those opportunities to expand your work beyond what you're doing as part of your program. And granted, there are, you know, a lot of international students who still manage to publish with their mentors and with their faculty and collaborators. But the reality is like the access to those opportunities is more limited.

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Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: What stands out to me, which that [00:14:00] was just such a thorough response. I really appreciate you going into so much detail. I've been told that my responses are too detailed, but that's because I appreciate the nuance of knowing like all that it entails. Mm-hmm. And so what came up for me was, you know, you started out with talking about meritocracy and I mean, for me, in my opinion, meritocracy is a lie. It's a fallacy. Mm-hmm. Like it is just like, how can you have true meritocracy when there are so many systemic issues and imbalances? And you mentioned it by saying meritocracy is only available to those that have access. Not everybody has access. And to have access means to have privileges. And so two of the things that you mentioned that can become immediate barriers for international students are the privilege of.

Financial access and the privilege of resources and collaborations and [00:15:00] access to that. And so already you're saying you're playing a different game because if you don't come equipped with that, it's gonna be really hard for you to demonstrate or signal how competitive you are if you don't have the tutors to help you with the, with the exams, with the telephone, with the G, if you don't have access to.

Even support with maybe translating information. 'cause you're saying this material's not in your native tongue. You might not have access to special fellowships, research assistant ships, you name it. And so then all of a sudden, a lot of folks, so part a PhD programs, they promised this idea of full funding, but that's not true for international students.

And then I'm thinking about like master students who have to work really, really hard to get scholarships. To be able to even hopefully pay some of their tuition and fees. Yeah. And how that could be similar or comparable, but with even more limits for the international student [00:16:00] because again, you'll be eligible for even fewer scholarships and opportunities.

So you almost have to like create your own opportunities. Mm-hmm. And so it's interesting talking like me leading up to talking about creating your own opportunities because you're now an entrepreneur. Yes, I am. And that's the, the second big hurdle or like stressor that comes up is not just let me get in and then let me successfully complete my program.

It's what comes next. What are even my opportunities in the US? How can I make sure that I can stay here if that's your plan? And so I'm curious about especially your experience having gone through graduate school in the US and then going through some career pivots, and now you have your own business.

Mm-hmm. So can you share a little bit more about that, about your transition from being a student to working in the US and now being self-employed [00:17:00] in the us?

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yeah, and one thing that I will say that I also want to make sure that is explicit is that a lot of this. Process that I was describing for international students is, can be even harder for those of us who are also first generation.

So I am the first one in my family to graduate college in Argentina. Period. They said you need to like have a bachelor's degree so that you can have a career and you know, like provide for yourself. And I was like, great. But I'm good at studying so I'll keep going. And anything and everything else that I have done is completely new territory for myself, for everybody else in my core family around me.

And so there is that element as well of all that information, all those resources, the, the self-management of figuring out at each step. And it is, it is not easy at all and [00:18:00] it takes so much work and so many resources and definitely tears. And so as I navigated all of that, it became very clear to me.

That if I was able to succeed, I wanted to lift others up on the way. And so I remember very vividly when I was navigating the job market before graduating my PhD and even recognizing, you know, like what the opportunities were and whether I wanted to continue academia or not, and making those tough decisions for myself and.

Really thinking of how I wanted to succeed for myself, of course, but I also wanted to succeed so that I could help others succeed. That was around the time that I also came across, uh, my first interaction with coaching as, as an industry and as a service. For the longest time I had been involved in advising and mentoring.

I advised like over 150 students per year [00:19:00] for almost like five, five years in at UMD. I had worked at Fulbright Commission in Argentina for a short period of time after being a Fulbright Fellow for a short scholarship. And so all of those experiences had already given me some insights on kind of like the institutional side of it and then my lived experience of all the different ways in which like there were gaps and ways that I felt that I was failed.

I like just really propelled me to think longer term that I wanted to address this in, in multiple ways. And so when I graduated and I landed my first job as a research consultant, that's when I started. Looking into what was the information and resources I needed to really build a career that allowed for me to eventually build a business of my own that would support students and professionals early and mid-career, navigating this same career pivots.

And so [00:20:00] that was the dual process of both certifying as a career coach, specialized in career life and career transitions. Also meeting with a lot of different lawyers, figuring out where I was at each step of the way, what requirements I needed, how to think about my portfolio and my profile in a way that eventually would qualify for the sponsoring in case that I wasn't going to be able to get sponsor sponsorship through my employers, whatever.

Whatever that might mean. And so. That was a multi-year project that I would say it was like a second research project after my dissertation. It was like figuring out what was possible, and I have been sharing that too, that the way that I thought it would unfold actually was very different. I, I thought that I was going to be able to, you know, like launch my business.

One, I would be able to like obtain a green card and that was not the case. I actually launched my business on [00:21:00] an oh one Visa now. You know, like things work out in mysterious ways and I am not complaining at all, but the timeline of me launching this business actually was much more accelerated than I was expecting initially for a variety of reasons.

But I think it was the gathering the information and kind of like taking the intentional steps at each point to give myself options that allowed for me to have a more flexibility. When the time came and I had to make those decisions for, for myself.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: A quick follow up question that comes to mind. Mm-hmm.

Just in relation to this, I'm thinking about myself as a listener, if I was in a similar situation. And I was a graduate student and I had a year or two left, and I'm starting to think about my next steps. I would want to ask you like, so what were some of those options? So that way I could think about, oh, maybe those could be options for me.

So are you comfortable sharing what some of [00:22:00] those options were when you were doing that research of like, what can I do with a PhD? I know your, your PhD you said is, was in government and politics. And politics, yeah. And so I'm just curious, yeah. What opportunities or options showed up for you as you did some of that research?

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yeah. Yeah. So the first thing that I did is I actually, when, when I started. My first full-time job after graduating, I had a consultation with a lawyer and I asked them, okay, so what are the options for me if I wanted to stay long-term? And granted like that was always within, you know, the realm of possibilities, but I was also looking into like, okay, am I not staying in the us?

And there were like many moments in time in which I was like, okay, maybe I'm gonna pack up my bags and like see what, what's the next step? And I say it very nonchalantly right now, but there was a lot of stress in the language behind that as well. Um, but I had that meeting [00:23:00] and I remember that meeting, for example, that consultation with a lawyer that was like really discouraging because the, because of the amount of like financial resources required to go through the process.

Because of the amount of work that I need that I had ahead if I wanted to be, you know, if I wanted to qualify for the type of self sponsoring available. And I remember kind of like letting myself just feel those feelings. And then in a very true fashion for me, I was like, okay, let, let's get to work. And so I basically started.

Both thinking about, okay, how can I save up enough financial resources that I'm able to provide for myself? And this might not be the lawyer that I can work with, but there might be other options that might be more affordable. Mm-hmm. And so exploring what that looked like. At the same time, some of the information that that lawyer had shared with me had to do with the portfolio and like the different elements that I could build that were [00:24:00] within the realm of possibilities, whether that was like publications or citations, collaborations, reviewing other people's work as a reviewer for journals.

So all of these different elements started. Kind of like taking shape over time and I was very intentional about, you know, like the opportunities that I looked for and that I explored and, and so like everything with the mindset of, I don't know if this is going to work out, but I want to make sure that I'm giving myself options and whether that is going to be helpful for me to stay in the US or go to a different country.

I am building myself in the vision that I have for the type of career that I want. And, and that was like the, the two biggest things I would say that have helped me, like thinking in terms of, you know, having that very uncomfortable situation of being confronted with like, okay, this is the reality. You [00:25:00] are not hitting that mark right now.

Being okay with that in the moment and then thinking, okay, let me, let me figure out what is possible right now based on what I'm hearing. And that is something that I, I work with my clients and with my mentees a lot as well, to not let the circumstances be so heavy that you are not able to like, see yourself as possible.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Yeah, I can imagine it. It must be especially hard and frustrating and easy to want to give up when there are so many hurdles presented to you, and it sounds like for you it was really important that you pursued some legal counsel or legal support that worked with your budget, and then from there to figure out what your options were, both from the sponsorship and [00:26:00] self sponsorship.

Then from there you took it one step at a time, even with the emotional weight that comes with it. Mm-hmm. But not giving up. And that ultimately led to you doing what you do now with, with your LLC, with your coaching, with your consulting. I'm curious if there are any other challenges that either you have faced or you have supported others who, who have experienced these challenges, either on the side of being an international student or having finished their programs and, and pursuing their careers.

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Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Mm-hmm. There is one challenge that comes up a lot. I, I, I know I've [00:28:00] experienced it, I've seen it, you know, in others, and I've supported others through the process. And I call it a little bit of a paradox in the sense that we are, as international students, we have an immense amount of skills and power, like just the sheer courage of building a home of your own in a completely different environment.

And then in addition to that, succeeding at. You know, pursuing an academic program and building a career as well, there is so much that goes into it that really makes us stand out, even if we're not trying to, and at the same time. We received so many messages that like, you know, shut us down in multiple ways.

Whether that is the consistent, you know, like rejections in interviews, like I [00:29:00] lost count of how many times I heard. You're a great candidate. You're an excellent candidate. We would love to have you, but we are not sponsoring. And so then you're immediately finding yourself, internalizing a lot of that and starting to wonder like, what is wrong with me?

That is like very disheartening space to be in and it's very real one. Then you also have, you know, like the microaggressions of of it all, whether you know. Whether that is about your accent being a certain way or people asking you constantly where you're from or trying to like put you in your place in small but very impactful ways and you still keep at it, right?

And so I think what makes it very difficult sometimes to articulate is the fact that when those two opposing forces are happening. Which one wins is a constant [00:30:00] battle, right? Because a lot of the times we tend to let the negative voices win. The whole discussion about proving our worth and proving that we are deserving and, and you know, and people exploit, like exploiting that too.

'cause I, I've been in rooms where I've heard, you know, people saying that they want to hire international students because they would do anything for a shot at succeeding in this country. And what makes us so great is also the thing that sometimes like people and institutions weaponize against us and does not allow for us to see how much value we bring to the table just by who we are and our stories.

And so. One of the things that I always make a point of bringing up and also highlighting and, and making sure that doesn't get lost in the process, is to be able to [00:31:00] like, have people feel seen so that they can really tap into themselves and their value, despite all the noise that they might have around, because I, I think that, you know, it is.

If you have not gone through that experience of being an international student or have been intimately connected to like someone going through that experience, it's hard to really understand how much you have to embrace the unknown and the uncertainty and trust yourself through that. Because it does feel like you're building a life in a, in, up, in the air, and anything can happen at any point in time, and yet we have everything that, that we need to succeed.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: You saying that having to to plan while also knowing that things are up in the [00:32:00] air really stood out right now because? I work with international students as well and folks who are academics. And that's one of the things that's really scary right now is that folks just randomly are finding out that they're getting their visas taken away or mm-hmm.

Just dealing with more of the bureaucratic hurdles that, that they're always there, but they only get more complicated. And so I'm glad that you were so particular about sharing these. International student specific challenges, especially that paradox stood out to me of being extremely skilled and qualified and then being constantly shut down.

And most of the time it has nothing to do with your qualifications and everything to do with an employee that refuses to sponsor someone. So that's really frustrating, disheartening, and I can see how it can just make someone, someone could easily internalize it instead of thinking [00:33:00] it's the employer or the system.

That's the issue. You start to feel like it's you, but it's not. Yeah. And then the other two things that you mentioned, I feel like they, they have a lot of parallels with also the first gen experience of mm-hmm. Facing a lot of microaggressions. So the microaggressions, whether it's like linguistic because of having an accent or because of the way, the way that you look or because of your background just being asked, where are you from?

Oh my gosh, that's so frustrating. And then that, that constant feeling of sacrifice, hard work, hustle, proving your worth, that comes up a lot among first gen students too. Mm-hmm. Of just feeling like, when does it ever stop? Constantly feeling like you have to prove your worth and it's never enough. Mm-hmm.

And so I'm curious, especially because you, you have this first gen experience, which is also very unique. Not everybody who is an international student happens to come from that background. I'm curious what [00:34:00] other parallels you've noticed between the international student and the first gen experience, uh, as it relates to pursuing education in the us.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yeah, I definitely think that. It's some, it's hard sometimes to really speak to one or the other because also the overlap is not a given. Um, but I think that one commonality that I see is the being left to figure it out on your own. And not just that, but also to be expected to succeed at the same level.

When you are in that process where like you're the only one in your family when you don't have the understanding or the resources and you're constantly updating your beliefs and understanding of what's possible, right? And realizing that [00:35:00] sometimes what you have learned over the years of what you've been educated on or raced on is not going to continue serving you in the same way.

Like, one thing you know that I, I can relate to very deeply is I grew up in an immigrant household where it's like, keep your head down and keep working hard. Do not complain. Do not, and do not ask for more money. Go work for free if it's necessary. Mm-hmm. All of these different things about do not take more space and then you get to a point in your career, especially when we are either in academia or after going through a PhD.

Where if you don't start standing your ground and owning your space, then you're going to feel stuck and you're going to feel invisible, and nobody else is going to advocate the way that you are going to advocate for yourself. And so that's such a. [00:36:00] Big paradigm shift that often feels like, you know, if in some ways being an international student and moving abroad by yourself feels like betraying the clan, by deciding to go such a different route, being a first gen or international student, and or, and having to take that stand for yourself of being like, no, I'm gonna take on, like, I'm gonna take out that space and I, I know my value and I know I'm gonna fight for it, and I'm gonna fight for it for myself and for others.

So. Here I am and you can like listen to me talk. Now that is another layer in which like you feel like you are betraying what you were taught back in the day, but that you know, that it's important.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I can relate, I can definitely relate to that part. You know, with being raised in a Mexican immigrant household and being told to just like so work really, really hard.

But then at the same time. Calladita te ves mas bonita. Keep your head down, stay quiet. Yeah. [00:37:00] Don't, you know, ruffle any feathers, don't be the squeaky wheel. And, and then later on, as you pursue your education career, realizing that that may have served you at one point, like you said. Mm-hmm. But it no longer serves you now.

And that now you do have to make the effort of being more visible, of showing up, of speaking up. Of building that community. And it's kind of funny because before we even started recording, we were talking about like, oh yeah, maybe we should share it. We take a picture and share it on social media. And I was telling you, I'm not that great at it.

And again, this, that's one of my toxic traits is like, I want to give advice, but then I struggle to take my own advice. Mm-hmm. So I tell people, show up, be visible. Like it's a good thing. It, it's gonna help you. It's not. It doesn't mean you're selling out, it doesn't mean you're being salesy. It just means you're, you're being there for yourself and for others.

And hopefully we do take pictures.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yes, we we [00:38:00] definitely will. But I will say, I think to your point there is, there is a reason why coaches need coaches, right? Therapists. Therapists. Like we all, we do not exist in a vacuum. Mm-hmm. I am here sharing my story as a first generation international student. I did not get here by myself.

I got here thanks to my family, thanks to the people around me back in Argentina, thanks to every single person who at some point or another supported me. Whether that was like through an informational call, through a referral, through just becoming friends over time. Um, we. Move forward with our villages, and those are also the ones who help us identify and kind of like overcome those blind spots because yes, you know, like we both were connecting over how difficult it is sometimes to really take up that space.

And at the same [00:39:00] time, it feels all the more important to do it because the more of us that do it, the more space there will be. And the more that folks can see that this is even a possibility.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Mm-hmm. I do think we have that in common of both of us experiencing challenges and having that be the catalyst or the impetus for us pursuing careers where we can support others so that they don't experience the same challenges or the same level of challenges.

There's a, at least there's a reduction in that harm that comes with facing all these barriers. So I appreciate you for that. And I also, I'm curious, as we get closer to wrapping up our episode, was there any question that you were hoping that I would ask you that we haven't had the opportunity to touch on?

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Oh, interesting. I think one thing that I will say is, you know, again, I could spend hours talking about this. I, I've spent hours talking about, and [00:40:00] that's part of the reason why launching a business around it. But I think the important part that I want like listeners to take away with them, especially in a moment like this one, where it feels that, you know, if we are usually building up in the air, we, right now, we are building in the middle of a tornado in this moment.

What I want people to take away is that no matter how difficult things feel and get over time. There is still so much power in themselves, in their community, in their ability to really creatively think about what they want for themselves, despite where that might be. And so I do really want that to be a message that they can take away because it can be disheartening.

I remember, you know, like the many nights that I would like cry not knowing exactly what was coming next or whether I would be able to succeed. [00:41:00] And the reality is like if you have a vision, if you have an idea of the type of life that you want, why you wanna do it, and that's what's grounding you, there will always be a way around it, and it might not look exactly like you were expecting at the very beginning.

It might look very different from what you were expecting, but as long as it is grounded in what you see and want for yourself, there is going to be possibilities open to you. And you gotta be intentional about it. Speaking of going back to what you said earlier about coaches needing coaches, therapists, needing therapists, do you, do you wrapping up with telling us about how there are opportunities, like if you look for them, there will be opportunities.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: It's just a great way to wrap things up and. It reminds me of one of the things that my therapist tells me a lot is that you, you have options like look for the options. Mm-hmm. And that always helps to ground me when I start to spiral [00:42:00] too, in terms of frustration that comes with, whether it's entrepreneurship or the job market or you name it.

There's just so much going on right now in the world. It can feel. We have very little control and yeah, it can make individuals feel hopeless too, but mm-hmm. At the end of the day, we have access to community, we have access to support, and we have access to opportunities, so I love that you said that.

Yeah. Anything else? Any other closing words of advice for our international student listeners? And if not, I'd love to hear more about how folks can connect with you and learn more about you and your work.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Yes. So one last thing that I want to say, because I don't think we say this enough. Your career development does not start at any specific point during your grad program.

Your career development is an ongoing process, so always be intentional about learning information, connecting with people, exploring what [00:43:00] it's interesting to you, and like we've been saying. Thinking about the options, the, the, the name of the game is making sure that you are aware of what the options are so that you can choose for yourself what makes most sense to you down the line.

That said, to work together more on that the, you can find me on LinkedIn and Analia Gomez Vidal. You can also find me on Instagram and TikTok as at AGV Services llc, and my website is AGV services llc.com. There folks can find more information about how to work with me and also my newsletter that I send once a week and every few weeks I host a free virtual community Coffee hour where we do a fair amount of career reflections and community building.

So I look forward to seeing people there.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Thank you so much, Analia. It's been such a privilege and honor having you here [00:44:00] today. Thanks so much for sharing more about your story and your insights. I appreciate you.

Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal: Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: ​thanks so much for listening. If you liked what you heard, here are three ways you can support the show. The first is to make sure you're subscribed and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. The second way is to get your copy of my free resource kit linked in my show notes. This kit includes tools, playlists on all things grad school, productivity, and personal development.

The third way to support my show is to follow me on social media. You can find me on Instagram with the handle at gradschoolfemtoring and on LinkedIn by searching my name. Thanks again for listening. And until next time.