Journal Reflection #2: Who is on your Ph.D. team (as outlined in Calarco, 2020) and why?

 

Who do you currently have on your team? What area of your team do you want to build this semester? What steps will you take to intentionally build your team?

 

I am lucky to have mentors on my team who can coach me along this Ph.D. journey.  I would like to have a truly interdisciplinary team.  These individuals are:

·       Topic Persons – Dr. Catherine Dutton and Dr. Kathryn Cantrell.  I would like to marry the subjects of family studies and child life.  Dr. Dutton is my professor for HDFS 6303, Academic Life and Scholarship.  She is my Ph.D. advisor and has already suggested new directions to go in.  Dr. Kathryn Cantrell was my professor for multiple Child Life courses, one of which I wrote a paper on the positive self-identity of adolescent cancer survivors.  She is also the former executive director of the Journal of Child Life.

·       Method Persons – Dr. Azucena Verdin and/or Dr. Melissa Brown.  Dr. Verdin was my professor in HDFS 5693 Research Methods in Family Science, where I developed a research proposal that could guide my dissertation research.  We talked about different methods.  Dr. Brown taught my HDFS 5193 Statistics for Family Science.  She may have a firm understanding of what method and what statistical test would be most appropriate.

·       Advice Person- Dr. Catherine Dutton

·       Writing Person-

·       Feedback Person- Dr. Catherine Dutton

·       Networking Person- Dr. Kathryn Cantrell

·       Listener Person- Abby Tree, M.S. in Family Studies, and Jessica Churchwell, LCSW.  Although I just met Abby, she is consistently there for me and knows what I’m going through.  She helps clarify assignments or notes that I didn’t get.  Talking to her is a form of self-care.  Jessica Churchwell is my therapist, and I meet her consistently once a month.

The areas of my team that I want to build this semester are working with my topic persons, as this is my first semester in the program.  I acknowledge that I can choose a topic completely different from the ideas I came into the program with.

I would also like to work with my writing person to harness my writing skills and get a head start in improving them.

 

I would like to get a head start by taking steps to intentionally build my team.  As a start this semester, I will meet with my Academic Advisor, brainstorm research ideas, and I will notify and request help from each person in my team.  Depending on what my research focus will be, I will work on choosing my dissertation committee.  (Is this too early?? And when should I choose my dissertation committee??).  However, I have a good idea for my dissertation committee and would like feedback from my Advisor first.

 

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