GradSchool Soul Collective Podcast

Carving a Career Path Outside of the Academy w/ Dr. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Episode Summary

In this show Dr. Yvette Martínez-Vu discusses how to carve a career path outside of the academy. To "Tenure-track" or not..that is the question. But, there are so many other questions to consider as well. She also shares insights about her professional and personal journey in earning her PhD and her graduate school experiences. She is especially passionate about mentorship, health, and wellness, and charting the path you design for yourself. As an academic coach, mentor/[Femtor] and consultant, she builds the capacity of both undergraduate and graduate students. In her own experiences as a FirstGen student, she did not have the guidance and mentorship that she needed, and she has made it her mission to support the next generation of change-makers. Show highlights: *Carving a career path outside of the academy *Navigating higher ed as a FirstGEN student *Navigating the hidden curriculum in higher ed *Mentorship and career guidance, questions to ask *Health and holistic wellness and how it impacts graduate students Dr. Yvette Martínez-Vu is a Xicana Mother-Scholar who works as an academic coach, consultant, and femtor. She was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, California to immigrant parents from Jalisco and Sonora, Mexico. Dr. Martínez-Vu has a Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies from UCLA. Her research areas include Chicanx and Latinx feminist performance, devotional images and objects, and intersectionality in motherhood studies. Dr. Martínez-Vu has over ten years of experience advising undergraduates, organizing academic conferences, and presenting her research. While she currently serves as the Associate Director to the UCSB McNair Scholars Program, she previously worked as an advisor for the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center and graduate mentor for the UCLA Undergraduate Research Center for Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. She has organized regional and international conferences, including USC and UCLA’s Hemispheric Institute “Experimental Collectivities” Convergence. She has presented at national conferences including the American Studies Association (ASA), American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), and Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). Dr. Martínez-Vu is also the recipient of various awards, including the IUPLR Mellon Fellowship, Ford Dissertation Fellowship, UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship, a multi-year UC Cota-Robles Fellowship, and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. Dr. Martínez-Vu is the co-founder of two activist collectives, including the multi-institutional Chicana Motherwork collective and Mothers of Color in Academia de UCLA group.

Episode Notes

Host: Elissa J

Email: elissajfrazier@gmail.com

IG: @gradwell_dr.e

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Dr. Yvette Martínez-Vu