[MUSIC] Mentorship is a priority because it helped me get this far, and so I want to pay it forward. I really want to inspire other young students to believe in their own potential, that's what I tell my Galaxy Girls. Reach for the stars, you can succeed, you will do it if you believe in yourself. [MUSIC] >> I see a lot of value in working at the local level, working with city council planners, different folks, for building more sustainable in just food systems in urban areas. [MUSIC] >> My goals and instructors empower my students as agential learners. To empower them to think critically about knowledge. >> I spend a lot of time taking care of my son, who's one and a half. If I do have a rough day at work, I can go home and still see my son and just draw joy from that. [MUSIC] >> But then you have a lot of students that come in and there flustered, they're like, I'm overwhelmed. There's a lot going on and it's those I feel like I get the most out of when I have them one on one. [MUSIC] >> The reason I go to U of M, there are lots, but its amazing. There are no shortage of resources. If there's something you want to do you can make it happen. [MUSIC] >> I had an idea that I wanted to be a research and policy analyst after this degree of my Master's Project right now is examining Detroit's current waste system and comparing that to zero waste alternatives. Local politics can be kind of difficult sometimes I think, but I see a lot of value in really shaping urban food systems essentially. [MUSIC] >> I've come to think more and more over the course of my time here that teaching is my praxis, that the political work I do is pedagogy. To give them the writing tools, right to be able to talk about and communicate about stuff that's in their world. That is the kind of work that excites me the most. [MUSIC] Having a community of graduate student colleagues is really, really critical to me. I have friends who I write with every week. [MUSIC] >> The funding from Rackham is a huge part of why the program here, in psychology anyway, is successful in my opinion. And it's made the research a lot more flexible, I don't have to design my studies thinking, can I do this, am I going to have the funding available, because the amount has always been just what I needed in order to pay subjects and things like that. >> A large portion of my day is actually spent reading and writing, reading and writing, because with this degree, it's very important for me to get publications and to really present my data to the world. After my first rotation I spoke with this faculty member and I explained to them that I wanted to transition into a new type of chemistry and they encouraged me to do it. When I entered Rackham I thought that chemical biology was my passion but this faculty member let me know that it's okay to evolve as a chemist. I'm glad that I'm learning new things and trying out new techniques. I'm really, really happy. >> I've always been encouraged, when needing help, swallow that pride and ask for it. Now, I'm working with undergrads a lot more, and so kind of help guide them and see them go from, I'm not sure how to use this particular software, how to analyze this data in Excel? See the improvement from day one to kind of where we are now. [MUSIC] >> It keeps you very busy but there's a latter for word, see you find out you're expecting or you're even thinking about having children, your life is already so full and there doesn't seem to be room for anything else. Grad school will claim as much of your life as it can and it's really up to you to push back and say okay grad school, you're very important I'm going to give you a lot of my time but I'm going to cut out some of this time or some of this energy and you can have that [MUSIC] >> I'm the first person in my family to actually pursue a PhD. My sister when she sees that, I've actually succeeded through a really tough time, she knows that she can do it as well. And so that's really important for me, to not quit even though it's hard. It's hard in the classroom, it's hard at home, that's what I've learned, and that's what I value the most. Determination, just keep pushing, keep pushing towards that goal. [MUSIC]