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On the campus bus ride back home after class, I once overheard a pretentious undergraduate describe graduate students as having “the experience of a senior with the knowledge of a freshman.”

It left me both surprised and insulted. Insulted because it just reminded me of how little is known about the graduate student experience. I can’t speak for every graduate student on campus, but I can say without a doubt that being one is not an easy thing, and that alone should be given respect.

As I’ve tried to touch upon in a few of my previous columns, graduate students, first and foremost, are students. This means that, like our undergraduate counterparts, we are also learning and growing, and the journey is one that, like theirs, is full of trial and error. No graduate student is perfect or has all the answers. In the end, we’re just like you. It would be helpful if undergraduate students would keep this in mind. 

When I think of my cohort or any other graduate students I’ve had the pleasure to meet, they all seem like people who just happen to be going for a master’s or doctoral degree. They make the degree, the degree does not make them.

This entire experience of being a graduate student in the Newhouse School of Public Communications has been a whirlwind. I was honored and humbled to get in after a dark period in my life. I felt this was not only something I wanted to do but also something I needed to do for myself. I’m grateful to God I had the chance to do so.  Even through the setbacks, I’m glad I came to experience about as much as I could in my short time here. 

The people I’ve met and the classes I’ve taken taught me more about journalism and about myself than I could have imagined. If anyone is ever questioning if they should go to graduate school, the answer is in making sure you know your “why.” Go to grad school for yourself or don’t go at all. I know that, as a young Black woman, this experience has been nothing but an eye-opening time for me.

I’ve had multiple times where my “why” was not only questioned but also answered. Confirmed and reconfirmed. Whenever I experienced any of this, it always happened at the time it needed to or was supposed to happen. The best part for me was when I had the “why” of my life purpose answered. 

It came one night after I attended an event on campus featuring a professional journalist as the guest speaker. I went just for myself and left knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I walked away from that feeling like every prayer I needed an answer to had been answered. It’s something I still turn to for help as I move forward with my own life and career.

If anything, I wish I had had more time. More time to socialize with classmates. More time to spend at the swimming pool in the Barnes Center at The Arch. More time to simply get to know the campus community more. But school work came first, so it won most of my time.  

I once worked on an assignment for a class and interviewed someone who just so happened to be an alumna of Syracuse University. When she learned I was attending, she called me an “Orange woman.” It felt strange to hear that because, while I was attending the school, I didn’t see myself as a student. I felt like a visitor. Maybe it was too much time spent within Newhouse, but it almost felt like Newhouse was in its own world and the rest of the university was in another one. 

The disconnect surprised and troubled me. I don’t think that’s what one should think about their university, especially considering the amount of money they’re paying. But I was feeling like that here. It’s not a good sign, at all. I hope that’s not the case for other graduate students. If it is, something needs to be done. 

Graduate school is not for the faint of heart. But if that is something you want to do for yourself and you know your “why,” then it’s worth it. The stress will make you question it, which is all the more reason why you should have your own personal toolkit ready to deal with it. It is also why self-care is essential and why, even in the middle of the madness of school work, you should aim to find the good in the scenario. For me, one example of the good was writing for this newspaper. It gave me a chance to do something I did not know much about but found that I liked enough to keep doing.

It was worth it for me to attend SU, but if I could go back before I started this journey, I would give myself a few pieces of advice. The first being to make sure to breathe deeply and to laugh — a LOT. You’re going to need it. Secondly, none of this is worth stressing over. No matter what happens, you’re not a failure. You’ve already proven that you’re capable, and now all you have to do is trust this process to teach you again that you’re smart, and therefore, yes you can.

Camille Daniels ‘20

Former Columnist

Published on March 10, 2021 at 8:57 pm