Navigating Graduate School Success: Insights from Dr. Zachariah Mathew's Journey

Graduate education is a transformative experience, one that goes far beyond mere academics. In the latest episode of Victors on Grad School, Dr. Zachariah Mathew, Senior International Officer and Director of the Center for Global Engagement at the University of Michigan Flint, sat down with Dr. Christopher Lewis to unravel his unique educational and professional journey. From his roots in India to accomplishing multiple advanced degrees in the United States, Dr. Mathew's story exemplified the essence of perseverance, mentorship, and making meaningful connections. This blog distills his advice and experiences into actionable insights that prospective graduate students can take to heart.

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Discovering Graduate Education as a Journey

Dr. Mathew’s journey exemplifies how graduate education is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Reflecting on his initial career as a physical education teacher in India, he admitted going in “thinking I knew it all.” However, through mentors like his school principal, he discovered the value of continuous learning and how education is a voyage enriched by companions. Understanding that he "did not know enough to teach" and that more formal education would help him better serve his students, Dr. Mathew pursued graduate studies—eventually crossing continents to the United States.

The Importance of Finding the Right Fit

Choosing the right graduate program isn’t just about prestige. Dr. Mathew discussed how he meticulously researched and prioritized faculty expertise, affordability, and alignment with his passions during his transition from India to South Dakota State University. This phase taught him that graduate school decisions depend on the information available at the time—a reminder that the “right” choice always involves reflection on personal goals and circumstances.

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Leveraging Mentorship for Growth

A resounding theme of Dr. Mathew’s interview was the transformative power of mentorship. From advisers to administrators, mentors played a pivotal role in helping him synthesize his skills and switch career paths. For aspiring graduate students, seeking guidance from mentors—faculty members or even campus staff—can be immensely impactful.

Final Thoughts: Graduate School as a Laboratory of Growth

Dr. Mathew emphasized that “graduate education is what you make of it.” Perspective-building, experiential learning, and finding ways to apply classroom knowledge to the real world define success. Graduate school should be seen not only as a means to a degree but as a platform to become uniquely capable of solving problems and thriving in a globalized world.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Victor's in Grad School, where we have conversations with students, alumni, and experts about what it takes to find success in graduate school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:11]:
Welcome back to Victor's in Grad School. I'm your host, doctor Christopher Lewis, director of graduate programs at the University of Michigan Flint. Really excited to have you back again this week. And as always, every week, we are on a journey together. And I call it a journey because it truly is a journey. You've made a decision that you're starting to think about graduate school. Maybe you've already applied and you've gotten accepted. Maybe you are in graduate school and you're looking for that light at the end of the tunnel.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:38]:
No matter where you are, there is a journey that you go through when you go to graduate school, and there are things that you can do to be able to find success in that journey. That's why every week I love being able to bring you different guests, different people with different experiences that can share some of those experiences with you to help you on that journey that you're on. Today, we got another great guest. Doctor. Zacharia Matthew is with us today. And today we're going to be talking about his own journey from India to The United States. Doctor. Matthew is the senior international officer and director of the Center for Global Engagement at the University of Michigan Flint, and I'm really excited to have him here with us today.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:19]:
Doctor. Matthew, thanks so much for being here.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:01:21]:
Doctor. Liz, it's truly an honor. I really love the way you started. It indeed is a journey. I know a journey where you're not alone and you find your companion who you can part the journey along.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:33]:
Well, I really appreciate you being here. And one of the things that I love doing first and foremost is turn the clock back in time. And I know that you did your undergraduate work in India and you studied to be a educator and a teacher and ended up getting that degree. But at some point, at some point, either during that time and your undergraduate work and that time in the early years, when you were a physical education teacher, you made a decision. You made a big decision. You made a decision to go on with your education, to go to graduate school. And not only did you decide to go to graduate school, but you decided to come to The United States to go to graduate school. So I want to go back to that point.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:12]:
Bring me back to that point where you made that decision and what made you decide that you wanted to go further and go on and get that graduate degree?

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:02:19]:
I was 19. I was not even 20 when I had my first job as a physical education teacher at an international school. So I went in with this mindset at the age of 20 thinking I knew it all and how far away or far out I was in my belief that so I started off as a physical education teacher at an international school, called Malayadity International School. It's in Bangalore, India. And again, as you mentioned in the beginning, education is a journey. Every day you learn, and you need to find companions. You need to find the right people who can be part of that journey. First of all, my family was always supportive.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:02:58]:
But at my institution, the principal of that school, Mrs. Anne Wario, she also started off as a physical education teacher in England. So she had a very different take for this profession of physical education. In India at that time, I'm talking about the early nineties, physical education was nothing but training. But Mrs. Warrior really brought me in to think about this as an integral part of education. Over the next six, seven years, I had a lot of opportunity to learn more through different short term courses, programs from Oxford Brookes. And I realized that there was a lot that I did not know.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:03:38]:
And also I realized that I was able to be along with teachers who had got their degrees from institution, like from Ivy Leagues and be part of a conversation. So first of all, that what that led me to believe is that I was also capable of having conversations, informed conversations with professionals who had terminal degrees from institutions abroad. So that made me also think so one was I realized that I did not know enough to be able to teach. And second, I realized interacting with, as we said, you know, meeting the people all throughout the journey, I realized that I had so much to learn. And at that time, physical education was not a field of study in India. It was not a major field at all. So when I decided to pursue my higher education, I looked within the country. I did my PG diploma from India as well.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:04:29]:
I realized that that was not enough for me to, one, have a career. Number two, provide proper education for the students whom I serve. That's when I really started looking to The US, UK, and Australia. And finally, I chose to do my master's in, exercise physiology in The United States. And then later, I realized that that was not where my heart and pulse was. I was more interested in the management, and that is where my pulse was. And later completed my master's in, sports management from Indiana State University. So this journey from being a teacher to finally coming to The United States took about seven years.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:05:05]:
That is the first leg of my journey.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:05:07]:
Talk to me about the search because every person goes through that process. And you said you could have gone to Ivy League. You could have looked at a lot of different universities to try to figure out where you wanted to go to get that degree in physiology and in sports management for your master's degree that you were going to be getting here in The United States. You ended up deciding to attend Indiana State University, but every student goes through that search process. You talked about you were looking at The UK and Australia and The US, and you're trying to figure out the right fit for you. But talk to me about what you had to do to be able to identify the right program, but also the right university for you to find that right fit.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:05:50]:
That too was a journey that almost took me two years to decide where I really want to go. So one thing that you need to recognize is that you do not know what you do not know. You make decisions based on the information that you have at that point of time. Later, you may decide later, when you have more information, you may decide that that is not. So you may you need to make decisions that is right for you at that time. So when I decided to pursue my master's in excess physiology at South Dakota State University, I was looking for an quality and affordable graduate education that aligned with my interest area as well. So at that point, especially due from 1996 to February, I was very much into climbing and hiking up on the Himalayas and high altitude. I was very much interested in high altitude training.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:06:36]:
So within while I was searching for the right graduate program, I found adviser or a faculty at South Dakota State University whose research was on high altitude training. So that was a key aspect at that time for me to determine which university to go to. So while I had a lot of push factors from India, which is like they do not India did not have this kind of a training at that point. The pull factors I mean, I could have gone to as you said, I could have gone to many, many places, but there were key aspects. One was affordability. Number two, quality of program. Number three, was there a person who could guide me who could guide me in my area of interest. So I started that program but it was once I was in the program and I learned more about what it really is because, again, I came from a place where excess physiology and physical education was it was not a science.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:07:33]:
It was yet evolving. I when I realized that I had no passion dealing with blood and punched muscles, I realized my seven years of experience or eight years of experience as a physical education teacher, a manager, and an administrator was my real area. So then I really looked for somebody or an institution again that was affordable at quality education, but then this time, you can't make too many mistakes. So this time, what I did was I did a deeper research and found a faculty who was also an author, reached out to him, had a almost an hour and a half hours of conversation, and then decided that my seven years of experience is something that I wanted to capitalize on and decided to do my master's in sports management at Indiana State University.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:23]:
Now along the way, you also made a decision that after you got that master's degree and you started working for Indiana State University, You decided to continue that education, and you continued that as a in a doctorate of philosophy program, a PhD program in higher education administration, and you stayed at Indiana State University. So talk to me about that because you you went on that journey of being a teacher in the classroom with with young kids, getting that exercise physiology degree, a recreation sports management degree. You're educating yourself seemingly on one path, and then you pivot, and you start working in higher education, and you decide to stay in higher education and get that additional degree. What made you decide to not only pivot in career, but also pivot in regard to what you were doing in your education to get that doctorate degree?

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:09:24]:
Yeah. So when I started my program at Indiana State University, I also realized that I had once pivoted from a program to another. So when you make decisions and when you kind of change those, it kind of can rattle you. So here too, I was a little rattled because I had lost some time. So I had to make sure that this decision was I had to make the best out of this decision. So what I did was I made, as you mentioned in the beginning, this is a journey. I made a lot of friends who were professionals in the field of higher education. These were the faculty and the staff of Indiana State University, and I made these connections through my work as a graduate assistant.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:10:05]:
I was a graduate assistant for employee assistance program, the the department that was very much focused on providing wellness for, the faculty and staff. I made a lot of friends among professionals, and every conversation was a learning opportunity for me. And that's when I also realized that probably I could do better and I would be a lot more satisfied as a professional in the field of higher education working with young adults. So I started thinking of switching from K through 12 to higher education. And a lot of work that I did at during my graduate assistantship period at Indiana State University was pretty much what a full time employee would do. So that confidence and that experience and the contacts and connections that I made at throughout my journey at Indiana State really helped me switch over to the higher ed field. So upon graduation, I moved to New York. I was working for State University of New York in the field of sports, management.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:11:04]:
And then again, you need to realize that you make decisions based on what the information you have. So my two years of experience pursuing my sports management degree, my experience as an international student and perspective building and the role culture play really introduced me to this field of international student affairs. It took me a little bit of a time to make sure that this was something that I really wanted to pursue. So after working for about seven years in the field of sports management, I decided to pursue my PhD in student affairs, especially focusing on international student affairs or international student affairs in higher education. Again, this transition, some I mean, I've many times I've been asked, why did you change your career? And I never see this one as changing my career because I've always been into student development. Again, I switched my means. One was sports. Now I'm really just pivoting that and getting into international student experience and making sure that I can provide an opportunity for those cultural understanding and student development.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:12:08]:
Now with every move into a new educational environment, there are transitions that you go through. You went through some big transitions going from a system in India and getting degrees in India to South Dakota to Indiana to different types of degrees, different types of types of expectations, different faculty, etcetera. As students go through those transitions, they have to learn what it takes to find success. Talk to me about what you had to do in those transitions to be able to not only transition into the programs, but also transition through the programs, finding success along that journey.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:12:49]:
So I think when we make decisions, we need to be sure why we are making those decisions. There is no right or wrong reasons. You make decisions based on the information that you have. Sometimes it might be career opportunities. Sometimes it might be that you just realize a new passion for a field of study. I think that most important aspect is making those connections of why you make a certain decision and see how much of your current skills can be transport or transportable is transportable. So you really take advantage of every knowledge that you have and then try and fit that into the new field of study. So having been in the sports field to or athletics, moving into international student affairs, again, for me, the connection was student development.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:13:33]:
Now definitely, it is challenging, and that's where you find the companion companions for your journey. You need to find resources. And when you are challenged, you need to be able to you should and you should reach out to people who are in the field of this profession who can serve as mentors. In my I think all through this, if I, if if you ask what is that one aspect that helped me through all this journey, I had mentors. Not one. Multiple mentors in the field of higher education from day one. At Indiana State University, it was Doctor. Tom Sawyer, who was my advisor.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:14:12]:
He was able he helped me make connections. When I say connections within the field of study, how I can really capitalize what I already know to the field that I'm getting into. And then as I said, as through my work as a graduate assistant, I made a lot of friends and family who literally took me under their wings recognizing that I had some potential but needed mentorship. So this included the Dean of Library, at that time, Betsy Hine, her family. Her husband was the Dean of was a Dean at Eastern Illinois. So they all kind of mentored me and held my hand as I was traveling through this field of higher education. And then again, I remember my, immigration advisor at Indiana State. He was the first one to really make those connections between what I was doing there to international student affairs and the role that office really plays.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:15:08]:
And I was able to see that relationship because I had some experience, but it was not the same. I was able to relate it through this mentorship. And that was I mean, again, you know, today I work at an international office. Very often, students look our look at our office as that transactional space. I think it is very important as a graduate student that any office on this campus that you are should be viewed as a place where you can learn from. So that mentorship that I got at my previous institution really helped me through and make those connections. So I never felt that I changed my career. It was making connections and making progression.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:15:49]:
And that is what it took me about five, six years to further make bond, build the strength of those connections and make a decision that I wanted to pursue my PhD in a certain field and then also pursue a lasting career in that field of study. So if you in one sentence, I would say is mentorship. Find mentors who are faculty, who are administrators, who we can talk to, whom we can trust, and that is going to be very, very, very powerful throughout your grad school journey.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:24]:
Now you have found success. You got your degrees. You moved into your own professional career in international education. And as you look back at the education that you went through, many people would say, I see the connection in your doctorate to what you're doing today. But as you think back to all of the pieces, the building blocks, it could be the career steps, it could be the education. As you look back at your education and those building blocks, how did what you learn in all of those different degrees prepare you for the work that you do on a daily basis?

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:16:59]:
That's a pretty profound question. A few things. One, believe in yourself and believe in what you do. So for me, from day one, yes, I was a physical education teacher, then I became an administrator, and now in international affairs. But my question even today, what I ask what I ask is, what is the connection? For me from day one, what I had been was an educator. The only difference was whom I worked with, either I worked in k through 12 or I was at college in the physical education or in the sports management or here. So all through what I've been doing is educate. And one of the reasons why I might have moved from again, I say this might because I'm basing my decisions on what I know now from a teacher to an administrator is I started asking this question, what's the difference between teaching and learning? That was a key question that I asked.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:17:51]:
And I've come to believe that learning takes a lot more than what happens in the classroom. It takes a lot of support system. Not everybody learn in the same way. We have students coming from different backgrounds. They need different support systems. So what I really did was pivot from being in the classroom teaching and find an avenue or find a place where I could foster learning, provide the support system, and provide the nourishment that would foster learning. So I thought being in an administrative role, I would be in a position where I could complement and support the students and the faculty in the core learning process. So that's what I really do today is, yes, I teach.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:18:33]:
As an administrator, I teach. But at the bigger picture, what I am really doing is making sure that the students have the right environment to learn. This would include even starting from techniques to learn to providing the social support system and being the mentor to these students recognizing that it is a mentorship that has got to me this to this position. So that is a key difference. I mean, the connection for me is whom I was working with and what am I doing right now. All through, if you're really looking in, what I'm doing is imparting education. So that's the connection that I have made. And I think that making that connection really helps you to progress in your educational pursuit and in your career pursuit.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:19:20]:
Because though I have changed my field, if you really look at it over the last forty years, I had been doing the same thing. And I have thirty five years of experience being in that field of education doing the same thing.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:19:31]:
Now you may have already answered this through some of your comments in regards to mentorship and other things that students should do. But as you look back at your graduate education and you think about students that are thinking about going to graduate school, whether it's in one of the areas that you studied in or something completely different, what are some tips that you might offer others considering graduate education that would help them find success sooner?

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:19:55]:
Graduate education is not undergraduate education. Graduate education is what you make out of it. Now something that you have to really recognize is every single year, there are thousands of students graduating with the same degree that you would have. The question there is, how do you really stand out in the crowd is a key question that you need to ask. So I really see there's a big difference between having an academic degree and having an education. And this graduate degree is when you are pursuing the graduate degree, you need to make sure that everything that you do is experiential. The assignments you do in the classroom should relate to what you really want to do in your career. So you can do the research while you are being a student.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:20:45]:
And, again, recognize that failing is not a failure. Failing is a great opportunity for you to learn, and the graduate school is one place where you may not have to be afraid of failing because you can then write a paper from that experience, and that can provide you a learning opportunity. So some of the things that I really want the young graduates to know or students who are pursuing their graduate degree is that graduate program is a lab. A lab where you can have experiential learning opportunities, learn from not only what happens in the classroom, but learn in the classroom outside, get involved on in campus in multiple levels. I'm not talking just getting involved as a participant. Be a leader. Take all that as an opportunity to learn and get an education that is beyond an academic degree. And also make sure that you spend some time in perspective building.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:21:40]:
We serve people from different cultures. So this is also a great opportunity for you to integrate those perspectives of different cultures into your learning. And this is what makes you marketable and make you employable is your ability to apply what you know in different settings. So it is very important that you really look at everything that you know and see how does this apply to various cultures or various systems and make yourself employable. Again, we at institutions of higher education focus on career readiness. It is your responsibility to look into your employability. The difference is career readiness will get you to the first job and then what? It is very important that you use every single day at your grad school to learn so that you can build your employability where you can employability is your ability to progress at your current job or move on. Every day should be a learning opportunity.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:22:36]:
See what you can learn from that experience. Even at a meeting, what is it that you can learn? And that is what makes grad education different and powerful.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:22:45]:
Well, doctor Matthew, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for sharing your journey today, for sharing all of this great advice that I know that others can take and be able to internalize and be able to use for their own journey, and I wish you all the best.

Dr. Zachariah Mathew [00:22:59]:
Thank you, doctor Lewis. Thank you very much for having me, and it's truly an honor.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:02]:
The University of Michigan Flint has a full array of master's and doctorate programs if you are interested in continuing your education. Whether you're looking for in person or online learning options, the University of Michigan Flint has programs that will meet your needs. For more information on any of our graduate programs, visit umflint.edu/graduateprograms to find out more. Thanks again for spending time with me as you prepare to be a victor in grad school. I look forward to speaking with you again soon as we embark together on your graduate school journey. If you have any questions or want to reach out, email me at [email protected].