Navigating Unfamiliar Terrain to J.D./Ph.D.

Arduous, But Worth It: Navigating Unfamiliar Terrain To Doctor Of Law And Ph.D.

Nontraditional and underrepresented students face immense stressors in their pursuit of higher education (Allen & Alleman, 2019; Kundu, 2019; Van Rhijn et al., 2016). Their ability to fully realize their potential and capability to pursue higher education may be inhibited simply by the ways they’ve learned to perceive the world and themselves during childhood. These students’ paths to attaining higher education are often more arduous as they counter unique obstacles not often experienced by their more privileged peers. Such challenges may include being the first in their families to pursue higher education or having little experience navigating higher education, being of lower socioeconomic status, balancing familial and work roles and obligations, and experiencing ostracism and invisibility (Allen & Alleman, 2019; Kundu, 2019; Van Rhijn et al., 2016). Although these obstacles can seem insurmountable and have even detoured students from enrolling in college, they can be overcome. The author of this chapter provides her personal story as just one example that demonstrates this.

Growing up, life was not always easy for Christina Walker. She lacked the bare necessities like a bed, personal hygiene items, and even at times food, shelter, water, and electricity. Christina’s walls were not filled with paintings or family photos; and her house was bare, empty, cold, and void of any furniture or indication that the physical structure that she resided in was actually someone’s home. Additionally, there were even worse times when Christina and her family were homeless, sleeping in a car overnight; borrowing money or using government vouchers to stay in motels; or staying with distant relatives who were essentially strangers.

When times were better it was only because Christina and her family relied on food stamps and government assistance. Still, until this day, Christina recalls missing numerous and consecutive days of school because Christina and her sister had to travel from corner store to liquor store, using paper food stamps to purchase candy and treats often valued at a quarter or less, simply to get real change in return. When paper food stamps became less frequently used and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards were introduced, Christina’s parents again required that she convert food stamps to cash, forcing her to sell candy bars nearly every day at school while pretending like she was earning money for some beneficial school-related cause, all for the purpose of earning cash to bring home.

Likewise, although both of Christina’s parents were in her life, they significantly lacked the ability to prioritize, leading them to sacrifice necessities of extreme importance. Medical visits went unscheduled; severe eye conditions went untreated; and essentially, Christina just had to adapt. Moreover, though Christina’s parents were known disciplinarians, scolding her and her sister to attend grade school and turn in school work, beyond this, they provided no direction. Christina’s parents did not discuss plans after high school, preparation for standardized testing, or attending college or trade school. Higher education was not a priority and graduate degree programs, especially professional and post-doctoral degree programs like law and medical school, were never even in Christina’s dreams let alone thought of as realistic topics of discussion. Yet, Christina does not blame her parents, as they did the best they could with what they knew. Further, considering that their childhood experiences were both far more trying than Christina’s experiences and at times even traumatic, she commends her parents for their ability to break generational cycles and generational trauma. Further, Christina commends them for the changes they’ve made and the vastly different life they’ve built for themselves today.

Sadly, Christina’s childhood struggles were not vastly different from the struggles her peers of the same racial and ethnic backgrounds faced. In fact, some of her peers dealt with far harsher circumstances. However, somehow, she avoided being sucked into a life of crime, drugs, prostitution, or the other negativity associated with peer pressure in an environment rampant with poverty, depression and desperation, and void of motivation and hope. It was education that helped pave the way in Christina’s life for something different.