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Something I think we don& #39;t talk about enough is the tendency POC students sometimes have to downplay their achievements and what that means for them. I& #39;ve been thinking about this a lot recently. A short thread. (1/7)
My mentor drew my attention to this last fall when I was drafting my statement for grad school. In my statement, I downplayed a lot of my my role in previous research experiences. Plus lots of phrases like, "I had the fortune to do...," "I hope to...," that sort of thing. (2/7)
My mentor said, you gotta change that. Be firm, precise and don& #39;t downplay what you did! Cut out those phrases and use "I did," "I will," "I plan," etc. Say what you mean. I felt uncomfortable with this at first, because I wasn& #39;t used to it, but it improved my writing. (3/7)
My mentor noted that in reviewing a lot of POC students& #39; statements, there is a strong tendency to do these sorts of things I mentioned above. I& #39;ve noticed that in my experience in reviewing other students& #39; essays, too. (4/7)
Now consider, alongside this, that POC students are made to feel like their accomplishments are moreso luck & fortune than the fruits of their discipline & effort (I& #39;ve certainly felt this). It& #39;s unfortunate, because how many people have done less and are bragging about it? (5/7)
The moral is this: be your own advocate and don& #39;t ever sell yourself short! You deserve to be proud of your accomplishments. If you did something, own it! It can be uncomfortable. It was for me. And it& #39;s not immediate or easy. (6/7)
But I hope that, in time, you can grow confident in your own expertise, your knowledge, and your accomplishments because every student and every scientist should be. (7/7)
