Finding Success in Graduate School: Mindset, Community, and Self-Care

Embarking on the journey of graduate school is both exciting and challenging, a truth eloquently explored in the recent episode of Victors in Grad School featuring Dr. Melissa Sreckovic, Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Honors Program at the University of Michigan-Flint. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Lewis, the conversation delves into the realities of graduate education, highlighting transformative experiences and sharing practical wisdom for current and prospective students.

A central theme of the discussion is the importance of mindset. Dr. Sreckovic reflects on her transitions—from classroom teacher to graduate student, then onto a doctoral program—emphasizing the need to adjust expectations and embrace continuous learning. She recounts how her drive to better support students with disabilities, particularly those with autism, sparked her ambition for advanced study. This personal motivation underlines the significant impact that meaningful experiences can have in shaping academic and career journeys.

The episode also addresses the challenge of imposter syndrome, a feeling all too familiar for many graduate students, especially those who are first-generation college attendees. Dr. Sreckovic shares candidly about moments of self-doubt and the steps she took to reaffirm her sense of belonging. Importantly, she advocates for building a “community of safe people”—mentors and peers who offer guidance, encouragement, and camaraderie. This theme of community recurs throughout the conversation, with both Dr. Sreckovic and Dr. Lewis stressing the value of collaboration and finding supportive networks within graduate programs.

Work-life balance and time management are further touchpoints, with Dr. Sreckovic offering practical strategies: block out dedicated study time, stay organized with to-do lists, and use even small windows of opportunity productively. She also highlights the necessity of self-care and seeking campus support services, such as counseling, to prevent burnout and maintain well-being.

The conversation rounds out with reflections on the broader skills gained in graduate school, including the power of networking and the importance of listening to diverse perspectives. Dr. Sreckovic encourages prospective students to research programs, get involved, seek funding opportunities, and, above all, to believe in their own place within the academic community.

If you’re contemplating graduate school or are in the midst of your own journey, this episode offers reassurance, actionable advice, and inspiration. Listen in to gather tools for your own toolbox—and remember, you’re never alone on this path to success.

Tune into Victors in Grad School to hear the full conversation and gain more insights on thriving in graduate education!

TRANSCRIPTS

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Victors 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 Victors in Grad School. I'm your host, Dr. Christopher Lewis, Director of Graduate Programs at the University of Michigan, Flint. Really excited to have you back again. And as always, you and I are on a journey. We are on a journey. As you are preparing and thinking about graduate school, maybe you are just starting that process for yourself where you're trying to determine what you're going to do, what you want to do next to get to reach those goals that you have for yourself. Maybe you've already applied and you figured out the programs that you're applying to and you're waiting for that decision in the mail or in your email.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:48]:
Or maybe you're already in graduate school and you're working your way through the process. You see that light at the end of the tunnel and. And you are trying to figure out what it means to be a graduate student and how you can be best successful no matter where you are. This podcast was developed to help you to be able to find success sooner. That's why every week, I love being able to bring you different guests with different experiences, different perspectives that can talk to you about their own experiences in going through graduate school so you can gain some tools for your toolbox to help you along your own journey. Today we've got another great guest. Dr. Melissa Sarkovic is with us today.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:30]:
And Melissa is an associate professor of education and the director of the Honors Program at the University of Michigan, Flint. And I'm really excited to be able to have her here to talk about her own experience and to share that with you. Melissa, thanks so much for being here today.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:01:44]:
Thank you for having me.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:45]:
Well, I love being able to talk to people about their own experiences. And I know that you did your undergraduate work at Michigan State University. You got that back. Bachelor of Arts in elementary education. And after graduation, you went out, you worked for a bit, you became a teacher. And at some point, at some point in those early years of teaching, you got a spark. There was something that made you start to think, maybe I want to go and get a graduate degree. Bring me back to that moment.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:19]:
And why did you decide that graduate school was the. Why it was the right time for you to go to graduate school and why you ultimately decided to go to graduate school?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:02:30]:
Well, after I graduated from Michigan State, I moved to Cary, North Carolina, where I began my teaching career as a third grade teacher. And right before school started the principal came to the third grade team and said, what teacher wants to be the inclusion teacher this year who wants to have the students with disabilities in their class? And I eagerly said, I do. And. And of course, that's not how things work anymore. This was a while ago. And so I had just the best experience my first year teaching students with and without disabilities in the classroom. I was able to collaborate with a special education teacher, and I realized that I still had a lot to learn about special education. And if I was going to be a really solid teacher and meet the multifaceted needs of these students in my class, that I needed more information.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:03:24]:
I needed a different skill, skill set. And so that's what prompted me to get my master's and a focus in special education. And I went back to Michigan State for a couple reasons. It was comfortable. I already knew some of the professors there, and also because of the format, I was living in North Carolina. I wanted to stay in North Carolina, and I wanted to continue teaching. I didn't want to take a break from teaching. So I was looking for an online program that I could do mostly on the weekends so that I could really focus on my students in my classroom.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:03:55]:
And Michigan State afforded me that opportunity. So that was why. That's why I decided to go back for my master's.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:04:02]:
Now, I know that you got that master's degree. You finished up, went back, worked with your students, engaged yourself within your. Your classroom and in your school. But then again, two years later, you had that inkling again, and you decided that you wanted to go further, and you ultimately decided to get a doctorate degree in special education in Autism Spectrum Disorder. And you. You decided to go to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. So talk to me about what made you decide that you wanted to take that next step and get the PhD versus just staying at the master's level.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:04:39]:
So I taught a student with autism, and he just really changed the trajectory of me for my professional life. And I just understood him. We got each other. I was his safe person. When he moved on to fourth grade, into fifth grade, he would come back to my classroom if he was 15, feeling overwhelmed. And I realized that he was really misunderstood by other teachers in the school, by other students in the school, by parents. And he is such a great kid. He's brilliant.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:05:12]:
He's so kind, so empathetic. And I thought, you know what? I can. I want to go back to school so that I can better prepare teachers to work with students like him so that they really understand the strengths and value that kiddos like him bring to the classroom. And really to help teachers foster a classroom community where everyone in their class belongs and understands their value. So that was really why I decided to go back to graduate school to get my PhD, because I really wanted to learn more about autism and how I could better support teachers in supporting their students on the spectrum. So, so when I was looking at doctoral programs, I was looking for a place that had researchers doing work on autism. So UNC Chapel Hill had some of the biggest autism researchers around the world. Dr.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:06:04]:
Sam Odom, Dr. Gary Meziboff, Dr. Kara Hume, were doing some really phenomenal research at UNC Chapel Hill. So I decided to go for an informational session and learn a little bit more. I learned about an interdisciplinary grant that I could apply for that would fund all four years of my PhD program. And I would do research as part of that grant and I would also teach as part of that grant. And that was under Dr. Harriet Abel.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:06:32]:
And I applied and was awarded the grant and thought, okay, well, all the stars are aligning. It looks like I'm getting my PhD. But really it was having that student in my class which really sparked my interest in thinking, you know, what, I can do more, I can make a bigger impact. And the avenue in which I do that is getting my PhD.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:06:51]:
I know that whenever you start a new degree, there are transitions. And as you go into that degree itself, you're having to learn a lot about not only yourself, but about what the expectations are for your faculty, how you're going to have to learn in a different way, and you have to figure that out as you go along. As you think about your master's degree, your doctorate degree, and you think back to those experiences, what mindset shifts, what mindset shifts did you have to make to succeed in graduate school?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:07:24]:
One of the bigger challenges for me going from the third grade classroom into a full time PhD program was the lack of reinforcement. So when you're teaching third grade, you have 258 year olds that are coming to you every morning and excited to see you and you are like reinforced all day long by their smiles and their laughing and their high fives and you know that you're doing something right. When you get to a PhD program, you don't have that instant reinforcement anymore. And in fact, you have a lot of feedback that's not always positive. It's not negative either. It's meant to help you grow. But it was a mindset shift. When you're getting papers back and there's A lot of work that you need to do on it.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:08:09]:
So that was one of the biggest shifts for me in my master's program. I felt like there was still a lot more positive reinforcement. In the PhD program, there certainly was positive reinforcement, but it just wasn't nearly as common or as consistent as when you're teaching third grade. That was a very big shift for me.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:27]:
A lot of students that I talk to talk about the fact that as they're going through their graduate degrees, at times they feel like an imposter. They feel like they shouldn't be there. They feel like they are not worthy of the, of the opportunity to be in those programs. Did you ever face imposter syndrome or self doubt during your graduate studies? And how did you handle it?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:08:50]:
Absolutely. And I would say that sometimes still in my professional journey, I face imposter syndrome. I mentioned that I'm a first gen grad student. So even navigating the college application as an undergrad student, but especially as a graduate student was challenging because as when I was applying for undergrad, at least I had my high school counselors to help. But then when you're applying to grad school and you're a first gen college student, you don't have anyone in your family that you can go to and say, hey, does this look right? Can you read over my essay for me? So that's challenging. But I remind myself that everyone wasn't accepted into this program. It wasn't an open door policy where everybody gets in. So I earned my spot there and I belong just as much as the next person.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:09:38]:
And I think it's really important when you start your graduate journey that you find your community of people. That was just instrumental. And my success in my PhD program was finding my safe people that I could ask silly questions to. And we supported each other, we encouraged each other, we were there to help each other. And you know, that helps with imposter syndrome too. When you find your people and you know like, this is your place, this is where you belong. I think you just have to remind yourself that you got in just like everyone else.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:10]:
That's always an important thing to do. Whether it's on a daily basis, whether it's on a monthly basis, a semester basis, you are reinforcing that you are meant to be there. The program believed in you and now they're giving you an opportunity to not only believe in yourself, but really to step up to the plate, step up to the challenge. Because it will be challenging, but it is an opportunity that they are giving you because they feel that you are worthy of that opportunity. So always keep that in mind as you're going through not only the good times, but the challenging times, because there will be both as you go through graduate school in general. Now, Melissa, I know that there's a lot of things that are thrown at you as you go through graduate school. And many times people that are going through graduate school are wearing many hats. They're having to be a employee, they're having to be a friend, a family member, maybe a spouse or a parent.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:11:06]:
And that takes a lot of balance. Talk to me about balance for yourself. How did you balance school, work, family, or other responsibilities while you were going through graduate school?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:11:16]:
When I was in grad school, both for my Master's and my PhD, I did not have kids yet, so I was married and I have a very supportive husband. And so that is definitely key. And my husband shared in my goals. You know, he knew that I wanted to finish my doctoral program and he was very supportive of that, which was really huge. But I think you just have to make the time. I would block out time through the week where I would study, and so it was just set there on the calendar. This is really silly, but I am very efficient and I always have my backpack with me. So if I was heading home from Chapel Hill to my apartment and there was traffic, I would pull over into a parking lot and I would work until the traffic died down because I didn't want to waste an hour in traffic when I could have been reading an article.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:12:07]:
So. So I just used my time as efficiently as I could and then I built in time. It may not be five hours that I could spend with my husband on a Saturday, but maybe it's two hours. And those two hours, I try to make it count as quality time where I put my work aside. And then I also tried to build in some fun. So I had a really great community when I was in graduate school and I brought my husband into that community and we would go out in Chapel Hill and go to dinner and things like that together. And so having a community, that kind of helps me push you through the program and contributes to both the work life balance. Because you're studying together, but you're also going out and exploring your new town together.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:12:48]:
That was really helpful as well. And then the last thing I will say is you just have to be very organized. I'm very organized person and I love a to do list. So lots of to do lists.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:12:59]:
Well, the to do lists are definitely one thing and as you said, you're very organized. Not every person is. And time management is definitely important. As you go through graduate school, talk to me about some of the time management management strategies or tools that were most helpful to you.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:13:14]:
Well, I would set out specific times of the day where I could study, where I wasn't teaching, where I wasn't doing research, and when I didn't have class and they were blocked out in my calendar. Now this was a while ago, so I didn't have Google Calendar. I had like a physical calendar that I would block it out in. But that helped me with time management. And I would look at my syllabus and I would write everything down, all the big due dates down in my calendar, so I knew when they were coming up. I'm not a procrastinator, so I would slowly work on those bigger projects. I believe it or not, my undergrad students don't typically do this, but I went to office hours of my professors and I would ask questions and make sure that I understood the assignment so that what I was working on, I was. It wasn't wasted time.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:14:01]:
You definitely want to take advantage of all the time that you have now. Realize also, though, that it's not always going to be easy and there's going to be time where even when you're putting in the time and the effort that you burned yourself out. And that can feel frustrating. It can feel overwhelming. And I say that just because everyone should know that it is something that may impact you while you go through graduate school. Melissa, talk to me about burnout for yourself and what did you do to avoid burnout or to recover from it when you were feeling overwhelmed?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:14:34]:
First, I would say that I definitely reinforced myself. So if I was working on a big project or if I was trying to get a paper submitted for publication, when I submitted it, I would have some sort of reinforcement after and whether that meant that I could go walk around the mall or I bought myself a new top, or I would take myself and my husband out to dinner. So building in those reinforcements are really important and they don't have to be anything big. It could be like, I'm going to go take a walk around the block with my dog now that I did this. And having those builds in sometimes throughout the week and then bigger reinforcements when I submit a big project was really helpful. You have to take time for yourself. I like to run, so I run almost every day, and I did during my graduate program too. So working out is definitely a way for me to like, release stress.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:15:25]:
And just have that 30 minutes to myself, I think was really important to help preventing burnout. And then I would say I did access. One of the greatest resources that I used when I was a doctoral student at UNC was their counseling and psychological services. So I did go to therapy when I was a doctoral student using my UNC resources. So it was free for me and it was really a game changer for me. It really helped me refocus and helped me complete the program successfully. So I'm very thankful for that resource as well.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:00]:
We definitely have to destigmatize the use of services on campus. And I've talked about that in the past, the fact that if you feel that you need help, if you feel that there are services that could help you to be successful, ask about them, search them out, and don't be afraid to put yourself out there. We have so many students that are veterans that don't take advantage of a veterans services center. We have disability centers that are not going to just go tell everyone that you have a disability. They're going to keep it confidential. They're going to talk to you. They're going to figure out what could help you to be most successful and work with you along the way. You've got caps that Melissa was just talking about about counseling services that are there.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:41]:
We have in our caps here at the University of Michigan, Flynn, there is a just for doctoral students. We have a specific program called the Doc Den, which is for doctoral students to come together to talk with one another, to have that group that Melissa was talking about. So there's lots of ways to find that support for yourself. And that is so, so important. As you think about the graduate programs, Melissa, that you went through and the experiences that you had, and you think about not only the in class learning and that you learned that were tangible to the field that you were studying, but a lot of times people learn things outside of the class that sometimes can be just as important. What was the most valuable thing that you learned outside the classroom during graduate school?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:17:25]:
Networking and how to collaborate. So networking has been very important and is definitely not something I learned in the classroom. My mentor, Dr. Kathleen Lane, at my first conference, introduced me to networking and started introducing me to the professors across the special education field. And I started a lot of my research partnerships through her support and networking. So networking is really important, something I did not learn in the classroom. And then the other thing is collaboration. So that same mentor, Dr.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:18:00]:
Elaine, my first year in my doctoral program, she gave a lunch and learn talk And I just really resonated with it. And I went up after the talk and was kind of out of my comfort zone, but I introduced myself to her, said how much I appreciate she did her talk and she said, I'm going to start up a group if you want to join. And I said, okay. So I showed up and we met weekly and we went around a table and every week we would share what we're working on that week, what we need help on, and any sort of successes that we had. She really cultivated a community within that group that we could lean on that was just so helping me thrive. And we were all so I felt like so successful because of that collaboration piece. I could lean on my peers if I needed help with something academic, like a presentation in class, but it could be something outside the classroom, like I'm submitting my first conference proposal and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to write for this line. So smaller things and larger projects.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:18:58]:
We all supported each other and many of us are still in touch today.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:19:02]:
Thinking about that and thinking about how graduate school changed you. How do you feel that graduate school changed the way that you think, work, or approach problems?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:19:12]:
I very much think about now whose voice is not being heard and who is not sitting at the table. I think grad school really opened me up to various perspectives and the importance of listening to varied perspectives when you're trying to solve a problem. And now when I'm in a group, I'm in a committee, it is sort of in the back of my mind of, okay, who's sitting at this table and who's not represented? Like, who do we need to hear from to make sure that all the all voices, all the stakeholder voices are really being heard.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:19:45]:
As you think back to your master's, your doctorate degree, and you think back to who you were as that first generation graduate student going in, not knowing a lot. What's something that you wish that someone had told you before you started graduate school at either level?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:20:01]:
Probably that you're not alone. You know, I was anxious, especially when I started my doctoral program, I was really anxious. It was definitely out of my comfort zone. So I wish somebody would have told me that you're not alone. Other people are anxious too, and that you will find your people. And the great thing about grad school, and I felt the same about undergrad as well, but it really clicked in grad school is that it's not if I belong. You belong. You were accepted.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:20:29]:
This is a space for you. This is where you Belong. It's just showing up and being part of that process. Right. And being part of that group. And that's something that doesn't always come easy for everybody. You do have to show up. Everyone's hanging out in the grad school lounge.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:20:45]:
Push yourself to go to the grad school lounge to start building those relationships, because those relationships are going to help you get through the program.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:20:53]:
Also, as you think back, I've asked you a lot of questions about being successful, and that's what this podcast is all about. So, in general, how do you define success for yourself now? But how did you define success for yourself while you were in the program? And has that definition changed now that you think back on it as well?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:21:13]:
When I was in my master's and doctoral program, academic achievement was definitely part of my definition of success. So getting good grades in my classes and that was also reinforcement. You know, when you get a good grade, it reinforces you. So that was definitely part of my definition of success. Now my definition of the success is really focused on the impact of my work. And if my work is improving quality of lives of individuals on the autism spectrum, less about how many publications I've gotten or how many conference proposals or how many presentations I've implemented, and more about, am I actually making change? Are people benefiting from the work that I'm doing?

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:56]:
As you think about someone that is out there, that's thinking about maybe going to graduate school, whether it's in education or some other field, what are some tips that you might offer to them that would help them to find success sooner?

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:22:09]:
First, do your research on the program that you're applying to. So look to to see what professors are there and what type of research they're doing. Especially if you want to get involved in research, it's great to have a professor that's doing research in the area you're interested in, because that can open the door for research possibilities. And I would say get involved. For me, I wasn't involved in a lot of clubs or anything in either of my graduate programs, but I was involved with my peers. I made time to connect with them. And I was very involved in research. And I was very involved as a teaching assistant.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:22:43]:
That was part of the grant that I was on. But if you aren't a part of a grant where you have to have research and teaching as part of your workload, volunteer. Volunteer to do research. Volunteer to be a teaching assistant if there aren't paid opportunities, because that's going to open a lot of doors for you. You're going to make a lot of connections that way. And then also for the funding piece is investigate what type of funding might be available. That was something I didn't know a lot about as a first gen college student, that there are lot of funding mechanisms for doctoral students. There might be paid research assistantships, paid teaching assistantships.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:23:20]:
So definitely do your due diligence and reach out to the program and see what opportunities are available and that that could impact your decision on where you ultimately decide to go to graduate school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:30]:
Well, Melissa, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your own journey today, for sharing some of the highs, the lows and the things in between that helped you to become who you are today. And I truly wish you all the best.

Dr. Melissa Sreckovic [00:23:43]:
Thank you Dr. Lewis. I appreciate the opportunity.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:45]:
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 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 flintgradofficemflint. Eduardo.