95: Learn About the Grad School Femtoring Support Group

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Hi, welcome everyone. Today I am going to be talking to you about an offering of mine. If you follow me on Instagram, then you might be familiar with the fact that I am launching my inaugural Grad School Femtoring support group. What is this support group? It is an eight week support group. It is intended for any undergraduates or graduate students that need that extra accountability. So if you're working on graduate school applications, if you're writing a thesis, if you're working on fellowship applications, if you're writing a dissertation, and you want a shared space, community accountability, a place to kind of get you going and looking forward to kind of getting things done, this is the space for you.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Like I said, it's eight weeks long. We're going to be meeting beginning Thursday, October 28, and it's going to be every Thursday at 2p with the exception of the week of Thanksgiving, or thanks taking- however you refer to that holiday. That week, we're going to meet on a Tuesday. But for the most part, we're going to be meeting Thursdays at 2pm Pacific Time. And each week, just so that you know- you're going in, and we're going to have a topic for the week. I'm going to have eight different topics. At the beginning of each session, I'm going to spend about 10 minutes, possibly fifteen minutes going over the topic of the week. You know, what is the topic? What does it mean? How do we apply it in our everyday life and in the work that we're doing?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

In the rest of the time, you're going to have an opportunity to check in. So you'll get an opportunity to get to know each other. It will be an intimate setting. I'm aiming to have about eight to ten people in the group. It is completely donation based, so if you are not able to, to pay the suggested donation fee, that's okay too. Just let me know. No one's going to be turned down due to lack of funds. I decided to offer this because I think that working in group settings is one of the things that I am really looking forward to doing. I'm just getting started with my solopreneur kind of business, with offering - well, my coaching I've actually been doing for several years- the one on one coaching. In fact, I've been doing it since 2016 when I graduated with my PhD. That I'm very comfortable with and familiar with.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

But in terms of doing it full time, instead of a side hustle, that is new to me. And I wanted to be able to offer something to the folks that are already following me, and to make it available accessible to folks who kind of want a more intimate setting, who want accountability, who want to learn a couple of new tools, skills, who want to get to know other like minded individuals, and perhaps even meet folks who you might keep in touch with after the eight weeks are over. I actually want to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit more about what we're going to be covering each week. That way you have a better idea of what you'll be signing up for if you decide to join me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Just so you know, because the first session starts on Thursday, October 28th, I do need everybody to sign up by Wednesday, October 27th- just to make sure that you get your zoom link, that you get a copy of my agenda. I also am going to be giving everyone a copy of my Grad School Femtoring Goal Setting sheet. It's a sheet that includes different sections for you to set SMART goals. I also want you to include personal and academic goals on there, to have a space to reflect on what is going well every week, what might not be going well over the week, and have that opportunity again, to reflect and discuss it. And perhaps even get suggestions from the group on what you could do to improve it. And I have a checklist of things for you to consider when you're setting goals.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

So you'll get a copy of my goal setting sheet. You'll get a copy of the agenda for each week, and I will get started on the 28th. What am I going to be covering each week? Week one is all about introductions, goal setting and making a plan. Here, I want to be clear that this space is not just for undergrads. It's not just for grad students. It is a combination of both. Why? It might seem strange to you, but actually, when I was in grad school- well in undergrad, too. I signed up for a lot of different support groups, writing groups, accountability groups. Some of them were memorable ones. In fact, I remember signing up for a support group in undergrad and it was a relationship support group. It was helping you to strengthen any kind of relationships in your life. They could be platonic, romantic, familial, professional relationships, and it was open to undergrad and grad students.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I recall just learning so much from the graduate students, not realizing - wow, the TAs that I have in my classes that I'm taking, they have their own life, too. They have their own set of struggles, too. I really appreciated the mixing of undergrad to grad. That's the kind of setting that I hope that I can replicate in the support group. But I don't know because it really depends on who signs up for the sessions. So you might be an undergrad. You might be a grad student. You might be someone I've never met before. You might be someone who I've personally mentored in the past. No matter who you are, all are welcome.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I've received questions like, well, what if I'm not a student anymore? Can I sign up? Yes, you can sign up so long as you are actively working on something- this person is applying to grad school- then the space is for you. I've also heard questions like, oh, well, I am not a person of color. I'm not BIPOC. But I am low income and first generation. Can I sign up? The answer to that question is if you consider yourself to be an ally to POC, to people of color, to BIPOC folks, then yes, you are welcome. If you don't, if you're not doing the work, if you're not comfortable around other people that look different than you, if you're not committed to social justice, then this is not the space for you. I just wanted to put that out there because that's a question.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Another question that has come up a lot is- I can't make it Thursdays at 2pm. Either they have a class or they work full time or some other scheduling conflict has come up. Can I just sign up for one session and one session only? I am open to having people pop in here and there. But I just want to stress that the support group will be the most beneficial to folks who can make a commitment to join every single week. Of course, I cannot control what happens. I cannot control you and your schedule. You cannot even fully control what's going on with you, so you might have the greatest intentions of joining every week and then something happens and you can't make it to each and every session.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

For that, that's okay. This is really for you and you making the most of it. But I would strongly encourage you to want to make the full eight week commitment to get the most out of the support group and to see the most progress in terms of achieving your goals during the eight weeks. Related to that question as well is if you can't make it at that certain date in time, please reach out to me. I'm actually creating a waitlist folks who are interested in joining but who can't make the Thursday 2pm slot. For those folks, I'm putting them on a waitlist - on a spreadsheet waitlist. And if I have enough interest, I'll definitely create another support group- or either create another support group for once these eight weeks are over or again, if I have enough interest now, then I might even create a separate group sooner rather than later.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

So if you're interested, just send me an email - gradschoolfemtoring@gmail.com, or send me a DM if you follow me on Instagram and I will add you to that list. One final question that folks have asked me is oh, I just have one quick question related to something about a grad school application. Or I have one quick question about a fellowship that that's coming up for me. Can I get that question answered if I show up to one session? Well, technically you could. Again it wouldn't be beneficial. I don't recommend it. Instead if you do have just one question and you want that help and support, I do want to let people know that I offer free half hour first time consultations. If you want a coaching session, if you want a free half hour for your first time meeting with me, go ahead and do that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Again, send me a message. I will send you a link to my Calendly, which has my calendar where you can sign up for your free half hour session with you. If it's like a quick question about this one thing, one part of your application or something that's coming up for you, and you know it won't take longer than half an hour, yes. Definitely reach out to me. Schedule your free consultation. I'm always happy to meet folks and to help you out. Now going back to what I said about going over the topics of each week, I want you to have an idea of what I'll be covering. So eight weeks.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

The first week is introductions. We're going to be talking about goal setting and making a plan. So we'll get to meet each other. We'll get to have some time to discuss what our goals are for the next eight weeks, and have you get started with making a plan. From the second week on, we're going to have a check in every week. T the beginning of the week, every week, I'm going to go over the topic. And after that, the rest of the time is checking in on your progress and your goals and what's coming up for you. What obstacles, pain points, anything else that can be an issue that's getting in the way of you reaching your goals, this will be a space for you to discuss that and to get feedback and input from the group and from myself as well.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Week two is check in and the topic is developing organizational systems. So it's like what systems do you have to have in place to really be able to execute your plan, and to start achieving the goals or meeting the goals that you're setting? Week three, the topic is facing our fears and facing our inner critic. From there, we'll talk a little bit about impostor syndrome and microaggressions, and all the things that get in the way that become kind of that negative self talk that then discourages you from getting the work done. That's gonna be the topic of the week. And of course, we'll be checking in.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Week four, we're going to be talking about getting unstuck. Along with that, that could be talking about writer's block. If you're writing grad school essays, if you're working on your dissertation, what are the things that are getting in the way of you getting started and making kind of progress on your goals? Week five, we're going to be talking about avoiding burnout and radical self care. How to take care of yourself, how to do all the things you want to do without killing yourself, without losing yourself without losing the joy and the motivation. So how do you try to kind of prevent burnout? How do you schedule in rest and self care? What is radical self care look like? And I'll give you a hint. It's not just taking yoga classes and meditating. It's much more than that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

All right, week six, we're going to be talking about finding joy in the work. I don't think we stress enough the importance of joy. Not every aspect of you achieving your goals is going to be joyful. That's the honest truth. But some parts of it are. Some parts of it are exciting- you know, the dreaming aspect of it, the the work that you're doing. You might be really passionate about the research that you're doing. So it's just reminding yourself of what is joyful in the work that you're doing. We'll be discussing that and of course, checking in like every week. Week seven, we're going to be talking about sustaining motivation. Usually at the beginning of any program, or at the beginning of anything that you're embarking on, there's a lot of excitement and motivation.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

But then in the middle of it near the end, that's the start to hit a wall and it can be really easy to lose your motivation. So this is the second to last week of the eight weeks. I want us to talk about how do we maintain motivation. Then the last week is our final check in and we're going to be talking about lessons learned. When I start to talk about that topic that week- I will be taking notes on your sessions every single week. And I will be sharing with you my observations of what you all taught me, and hopefully you all will be able to share what we've taught each other- what I've taught the group and what you all have taught to one another in your weekly check ins.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That is the support group. I am really excited about it. Again, I don't want money to be an issue. to be an obstacle. This is really an ofrenda. This is an offering for my Grad School Femtoring community. I really feel like it's kind of like a launching off point because I'm at the early stages of really doing this full time. I myself am still trying to meet my own goals. I am still in transition. I am also- you might notice in the next week or two, I might have a brand new website with all of my offerings on there. So this is kind of, again, one of many launching points. It's just the beginning of what I envision I'll be able to offer through Grad School Femtoring as a an official company.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Also, I want to announce that I was able to file Grad School Femtoring as an LLC, as a limited liability company, as a single member LLC. So I am the head of the LLC, the founder of the LLC. I'm excited to have it keep growing and to keep helping more people out, and to keep making this work kind of available and accessible to all. And hopefully find a way to also take care of my family while I do so. So tune in for more updates. I hope that you will sincerely consider joining the support group.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Y'all that listen to me every week- come on now. If you're available Tuesdays at two, what's holding you back? If you're not available and you still want to do it, what's holding you back from letting me know so I can add you to that waitlist? Please join me. I'm offering this con todo mi corazon. I am excited to be able to help others. I do kind of miss the regular meetings that I would have before with students, and I'm hoping to implement more of that into my schedule. All right, y'all. Hopefully I'll see some of you on October 28th. I'll talk to you all later.