PhD Journey: Real Talk Doctoral Writing Retreat | UC Graduate School, October 2025

I shared my 9-year PhD journey with 45 doctoral candidates - the mental health suspensions, institutional precarity, full rewrite, and what actually helped me survive and finish. Students left with practical tools (file organisation, research planning, thesis structure), honest conversation about the reality of doctoral work, and permission to struggle without shame.

One student publicly told the Graduate School: ‘THIS is what we've been asking for - I’ve been telling you for over a year.’ Another said ‘you're my hero.’ This is the presentation I wish someone had given me when I started.