From Netflix to Doctorate: Seana Goodson's Journey Through Grad School

Are you contemplating graduate school, or already navigating its rigorous demands? The latest episode of “Victors in Grad School” serves up a dose of inspiration, practical advice, and hard-earned wisdom from Seana Goodson, a proud University of Michigan Flint online DBA candidate and Netflix professional. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Lewis, this conversation shines a light on what true resilience looks like—along with tips that can help anyone thrive on their own graduate journey.

Seana’s story stands as a testament to the power of determination, unconventional paths, and lifelong learning. From navigating early obstacles as a young mother to returning to school and excelling at each step—from undergraduate studies in Sociology and English, to earning her MBA, and now thriving in a rigorous doctoral program—she embodies the spirit of perseverance and ambition.

A key takeaway? Graduate school is no walk in the park. As Seana Goodson bluntly puts it, “you have to be ready—100% ready.” She stresses the importance of preparing yourself mentally, communicating clearly with family and friends, and carving out dedicated time for study, regardless of personal or professional obligations. Managing distractions by setting boundaries, using tools like calendar blocks, and being transparent with those who support you are essential strategies for success.

A recurring theme is the importance of building a support system—your “tribe.” Seana Goodson credits her cohort and mentor network for providing the encouragement, understanding, and motivation that help her stay on track. Whether it’s a group chat with peers or finding mentors ahead of you in the process, leaning on this community makes the journey more manageable and far less lonely.

On the topic of burnout, Seana is candid: it happens, but prioritizing self-care makes recovery possible. Meditation, carving out quiet moments, and giving herself grace are all tools she uses to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

This episode is packed with encouragement and actionable tips, from the value of seeking out campus resources to the importance of giving yourself grace—especially when imposter syndrome creeps in.

Ready to hear more about Seana’s journey and pick up inspiration for your own graduate school road ahead? Tune into this week’s episode of “Victors in Grad School” and discover what it truly takes to be a victor in your educational journey.

TRANSCRIPT

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.

Seana Goodson [00:00:08]:
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 this week. As always, every week, I love being able to be on this journey with you because it is a journey. Every one of you that are thinking about graduate school, no matter where you are in this process, are on a journey. Whether you're just at the very beginning starting to think about graduate school, maybe you've applied, maybe you got accepted, or maybe you're in a program. Doesn't matter.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:44]:
Every one of you is on this continuum, this journey that you're going to be going through to be able to move toward the goals that you've set for yourself. This podcast is here to be able to help you in that journey. Every week. I love being able to bring you different people with different experiences that can talk to you about the journeys that they have gone through or are in right now so that you can learn from them, maybe learn some things about what they did that maybe they wish they didn't do or things that they did that really worked. But in the end, it's all about helping you be successful. So I'm really excited that you're here, and I'm excited to introduce you to this week's guest, because this week's guest is Shauna Goodson, and Shauna has been in the entertainment business for many, many years. She works for Netflix and has her own graduate school journey, and she did her undergraduate work at Georgia State University, studying sociology in English. And we're going to learn a little bit more about the journey that she's been on to continue that education.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:52]:
So I'm really excited to have her here today and to have her a part of this journey. Shauna, thanks so much for being here today.

Seana Goodson [00:02:00]:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:02]:
Well, I am really excited to have you here today to have you share some of this journey. As I said, I know that you did your undergraduate work at Georgia State University, and at some point in that journey, you made a decision because you were studying sociology and English. But at some point in that journey, you made a decision to continue your education. Bring me back to that point where you said to yourself, I need to continue this and go to graduate school. What was going through your head and why did you make that choice?

Seana Goodson [00:02:34]:
Well, for me, it's a lot of my so my journey has been anything but conventional. So I'll tell you about it. So even undergrad, so undergrad year, I've always been a rebel. So I'll let you guys know that right now. I've always been a rebel, so I'm always going against the grain. That's what we Aquarian people do. So when I was in undergrad, my sophomore year in undergrad, I got pregnant with my oldest son. So people said, oh, she's not going to.

Seana Goodson [00:03:01]:
She's on the dropout. She's not going to go back to school. She's not going to do that. Yes, I did drop out. So that's why my journey is not conventional. So once I decided to go back, then I said, okay, all of these naysayers, you know, said, I couldn't. Let me show you. I can.

Seana Goodson [00:03:16]:
So I did. So after I graduated from my undergrad with sociology in English, then I decided, okay, I'm going to go to grad school. I'm going to get my mba. So I did. I started on that journey and went to Nova Southeastern University, where I received my mba. And I've always had a thirst for knowledge, and I knew I wanted to continue. I knew I wanted to do something, even though my undergrad was soc. I knew I wanted to do something in the legal world.

Seana Goodson [00:03:43]:
But I also have entertainment intertwined in that because I am a big entertainment fan. So I knew I wanted to start that journey somehow. I didn't know how, but I knew I wanted to.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:55]:
So talk to me a little bit about that initial decision. So you decided to go to Nova southeastern for an MBA. So why an MBA? But also, there's many MBAs that are out there. You were in Georgia. You were. You could have stayed in Georgia. You could have gone anywhere around the country, and almost every university has an mba. So talk to me about what was it about, specifically Nova Southeastern that ultimately made you decide that that was the right program for you?

Seana Goodson [00:04:24]:
So the reason why I chose Nova 1 is because it was a highly reputable school. I mean, fantastic school. And one, I already had a child. So I knew I wanted to stay in the south because I had my kid. And. And also NOVA targeted people who are working adults. That. That's what stood out to me.

Seana Goodson [00:04:44]:
I wanted a program where I could still have my job and take care of my son, but I can also get my mba and I could do it in a quick time. Like, I didn't have to take breaks. It wasn't that kind of schedule. So I just went all the way through and finished in 14 months.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:05:00]:
Now, I know that since that MBA you went off, you worked. You've been working for many years. But at some point in this continuum of being in the entertainment industry for many years, at some point you made the decision, I'm not done and I want to continue. And you ultimately decided to apply to a doctorate of Business administration program here at the University of Michigan Flint. And you got in here. So talk to me about, just like we talked about with the mba, why a dba and why the University of Michigan Flint?

Seana Goodson [00:05:33]:
Well, let's talk about the University of Michigan Flint. Let's talk about the University of Michigan, the best school on the planet planet. And I am a huge Michigan supporter. My youngest son graduated from Umich Ann Arbor, and he's now a student at Umich Flint, working on his mba. So we're just a Michigan family by far. And Michigan. What made Michigan stand out for me was the reputation where I know I can take this degree. This degree is not going to be just a dba.

Seana Goodson [00:06:03]:
It's going to be a DBA from Umich Flint, period. So that's what was important. The reason why I chose to continue on my journey is one, I'm home by myself now. I don't have any kids in my house, but two, in my career, like I said, like, I'm thirsty for knowledge. Like, I want to learn more, I want to do more. And with AI being a big thing now in every industry, I said, okay, I need to go back to school. I need to get my dba. I wanted to stay in business.

Seana Goodson [00:06:30]:
Since I already had an mba, it just made more sense for me to get a dba. And I wanted to become a subject matter expert in artificial intelligence and how it's affecting the entertainment industry. So my dissertation in a Nutshell is Gone is about how artificial intelligence is transforming the way studios hire voiceover talent. Because that's one of my big negotiations. I draft and negotiate deals every day for animation. And one of the big sticking points is you're going to steal my talent's voice. Are you going to make a show or they're going to be out of work? So I want to show people it's not necessarily that. It's not going to put people out of work.

Seana Goodson [00:07:09]:
It's just going to enhance things for everyone. But with Umich on my back, I mean, I can take this everywhere. I can take this on the road, I can take this for Netflix. I could take this anywhere.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:21]:
With every school that you go to and every program that you transitioned into. There are transitions. Going from being an undergraduate student to being a student in the mba, going from being in the entertainment industry for many years and then transitioning back into the classroom again. Transitions. And you found success in graduate school. Talk to me about at the mba, at the DBA level. What did you have to do to set yourself up for success and what did you have to do to maintain that success throughout the entire graduate school journey that you've gone through thus far.

Seana Goodson [00:07:57]:
To set yourself up for success? One is, you know, you have to be ready. Graduate school is no walk in the park. It's a lot of work. So in order for me to set myself up for success before I even started in any of these graduate level programs, I knew I had to be ready, 100% ready. No distractions. I mean, we all have distractions, but you just have to know how to deal with your distractions and you just have to be ready and then you have to give yourself grace. That's the one thing. And, but like I said, you have to be prepared.

Seana Goodson [00:08:29]:
Like, I don't even know how to tell you to be prepared to be in this journey, but just know you need to be ready. Especially when you come to a school like UMich. Be ready. Because all the studies in any graduate level program is going to be rigorous. You know what I mean? It's not going to be simple. No one is going to hold your hand. But just being prepared, that's my only thing I can say is just being prepared and not having any, not letting distractions get in your way because you will have distractions.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:57]:
When you talk about distractions, what have you had to do to be able to minimize those distractions for yourself that might help others as their step stepping into graduate school.

Seana Goodson [00:09:08]:
For me, like, my schedule is busy. Like, I am slammed every single day, but I always carve out time that I know that I need to be focused on school and on my studies. And then as far as, like with my family, with my family, I always tell them, listen, I'm studying just yesterday, prime example. My sister wants to get on the phone and gossip about the housewives. I don't have time for that. It's like, listen, I'm working on my doctor right now. I. I have no time to talk.

Seana Goodson [00:09:36]:
So I have to let my family know I can't do some of the things that I used to do. Not right now. I will. One, once I graduate and once I become Dr. Shawna, then I can do stuff. And who knows, I might not be able to then because I'll be doing. I'll be on to the next thing. But it's just being real open and transparent with, if you have a job, being transparent with your job.

Seana Goodson [00:09:58]:
Listen, from this hour to this hour, I'm on dnd. Do not disturb me. And I do have a focus time on my calendar because for me, Sometimes I work 18, 20 hours a day. That's no joke. That's real. But people know if my calendar is blocked and if you're not pinging me saying, hey, I see your calendar is blocked for the next three hours. Is this real? Yes, it's real. I can't talk right now.

Seana Goodson [00:10:21]:
So I feel like that's one of the things that helped me along the way.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:25]:
I love that you said that because I have said that numerous times to many audiences along the way. To be able to say, hey, you do have to have those conversations up front. You need to make sure that as you are starting graduate program that you talk to the people around you. You need them as a support, as a support network. But at the same time, you need to be honest with them about what the reality is and what that experience is that you think the experience is going to be like. But then you have to go back and update them on what the reality actually is. Because you might say up front, I can talk to you every other day. But then as you get into it, you might be like, if I'm lucky, I'm going to be able to do this once a week.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:11:06]:
And because a lot of times your family or your friends think of you as, hey, I can just call shauna. Because we're BFFs and, and we always talk about the housewives. But the reality is they may. They've never been in a DBA program before. They don't know what it's like. And if you've said to them, I can talk to you every other day, they're going to expect you're going to talk to me every other day. And if you don't update that reality with them, they're going to feel slighted in many ways. So always continue the conversation, keep the communication open, and make sure that they are aware of what you're going through and what you need.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:11:42]:
Because if they're going to be a support, there's still going to be a support. They just need to know how to support you.

Seana Goodson [00:11:46]:
I totally agree with that because I have three adult sons and two granddaughters, and their reality now is do I need to get on mom's calendar? Because they can't talk to me all the time. And if I'm in residency, because we have residency once or twice a month, I am totally blocked out. Like I'm up at 5 o' clock because my first residency is at 6am My time, which is 9 on the east Coast. I can't talk to you. Just like you hear my. The pings going off right now. It's only 7:25 here and people are already pinging me from my office. But, you know, it never ends.

Seana Goodson [00:12:24]:
But I have to. You do. You have to be open with your family. You have to be open with your friends. Because I'm a socialite. That's real here. So brunch every Saturday or Sunday. I don't do those anymore.

Seana Goodson [00:12:38]:
I can't do them right now. Only time I was able to do one is when we had kind of a break. We had like a. Maybe before I was transitioning to. From one semester to the next. I think I had like a couple of days break. I did go and brunch then, but the brunch I went on was with another UMich student who is also working on her DBA who's graduating next year. And we talked about school, of course.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:13:04]:
And that's another great point, is that as you're going through that graduate program, find those supports that you can have that are part of the program, Whether they're in your year, they're ahead of you, they're behind you. Because those individuals can be individuals that can help you as well in many different ways. Because sometimes you just need to vent to people that really get it, and that is definitely an important piece.

Seana Goodson [00:13:27]:
And find your tribe. So my cohort, we have a group chat that we get on them or we vent and then we talk about stuff and then we talk about. Do you understand this assignment? What. What should we be doing here? We do it all day. Like, we. And we all are working professionals. A lot of us are executives. So it's.

Seana Goodson [00:13:46]:
We just carve out the time to reach out to each other and that's why we have the group chat. So some people may not be able to answer now, but they might answer at three in the morning, which is six for them and three for me. So you find your tribe and then like some people in your cohort, you might have a closer relationship. Like I have the one person in my. A couple of people in my tribe is Melissa, Lance and Aaron. Like, I talk to those people all the time. We'll get on the phone, we'll talk and. And we might go through assignments together.

Seana Goodson [00:14:16]:
But those people become your. Your friends, your tribe. And so some of the, your, Your friends, your real circle, if they understand, they have to understand, like, okay, this isn't about us anymore. Now you have this whole new tribe of all these doctorate students, so you don't have time for us. But you. When you make them understand. Well, I have to talk to people who can. We.

Seana Goodson [00:14:39]:
We can bounce ideas off. So my mentor from my first. Is from the 1st DBA Corps. And I talked to her. She's awesome because she's already been through this journey. She's already hit certain walls that I have to hit. So. And then now I'm a mentor at.

Seana Goodson [00:14:56]:
In Michigan Flint for people under me, like master's students. So that's a blessing in itself because it makes me feel good to be able to help someone along the way.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:15:04]:
Now you've already been talking about how busy you are. You've got a ton of things happening. Netflix, you have a ton of things happening with your family and friends and a lot of people pulling from your time. For many students, that could lead to burnout. So talk to me about how did you. Do you avoid burnout? Or how do you recover from it when you have felt overwhelmed thus far?

Seana Goodson [00:15:28]:
The way to avoid burnout. And I am just a firm believer in this. I meditate. I used to believe in that because I said, oh, that's just bogus. That's an L. A thing like people. Everyone out here meditates. But it's real.

Seana Goodson [00:15:42]:
Sometimes I'll just sit in silence and I meditate. And I have these little things right here that I keep. These are. These are crystals that I keep. I just believe in energy and stuff. But. But I do. I meditate and I take time for myself.

Seana Goodson [00:15:56]:
And sometimes I'll take. Even if it's only five minutes, you take the time for yourself because you will burn out if you keep on the route that you go. Like for some. Like for instance, someone like me who works a lot. I work a lot. So I'm juggling all of these 50 million things, but then I'm juggling 50 million things from school. And you will hit that wall. And then so you have to.

Seana Goodson [00:16:20]:
One step back. You have to give yourself grace. You have to talk to yourself. You have to encourage yourself. Every day I get up, I look in the mirror. I always say, girl, you are everything. You have to do that for yourself. You have to talk to yourself.

Seana Goodson [00:16:34]:
But my one thing, yeah, is definitely is meditation. Meditation and green tea. Decaffeinated green Tea. That's my. That helps me from burning out.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:43]:
As you think about your own graduate school experience and you think about what you experienced along the way, talk to me about a defining moment for yourself or a turning point that really shaped your academic or professional journey.

Seana Goodson [00:16:57]:
I'm an overachiever. So in this doctorate program, I'm still a 4.0 GPA. And I set those goals for myself every month. Like people say, oh, don't set yourself up for that. Don't set yourself up to saying, oh, I have to have a 4.0. For me, I do. I have to have a 4.0. It's a goal.

Seana Goodson [00:17:15]:
And that. That lets me know I'm working hard. I'm never satisfied. So for me, my turning point was one, was getting into this amazing program. That was a turning point for me. That's everything. Like, if you come in my house right now, my house is Mason blue. True is if I'm looking at everything right here in front of me, I'm on my desk, everything is amazing blue.

Seana Goodson [00:17:36]:
So that was a turning point for me in my life, period. Like, just to be able to say, I will be a part of this esteem Michigan went alumni. Do you know how amazing that feels? And just to meet other people within my network who are at Netflix. You know how many University of Michigan people we have there? I mean, tons. So we all are like, oh, just so proud. But the turning point for me is getting into the program. And then even though I'm successful, it makes me feel more successful because I know the journey I'm on. I know what I'm going to do.

Seana Goodson [00:18:13]:
I know that I'm going to become a subject matter expert for Michigan. I know that eventually I will teach at Michigan. That's my goal. When this entertainment world is all said and done, when I retire, which I don't know when it's going to be my dream and my goal is to become a part of Michigan faculty. And that's a fact. Everyone knows that.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:18:34]:
So as you think of your experience through the MBA and through the DBA thus far, what's something you wish someone had told you before, before you started graduate school?

Seana Goodson [00:18:44]:
Take a beat. I mean, I know I'm talking in entertainment terms, but just to slow down, just take a beat. Because you get so excited. And I wish that someone would have told me that. I wish someone would have told me that all through my life, period. But coming into grad school, when you first start, it's like drinking water from a fire hydrant. It's so much Information coming at you at all times. So if you just take a beat and just sit back and just take that time, I wish someone have told me that.

Seana Goodson [00:19:14]:
So that's the one thing that I like to tell people, even my mentees. Take a beat, give yourself grace. You don't have to know everything all the time because you're not going to know everything. It's a lot of people out here that will know a lot more than you. For me, I suffer imposter syndrome. That's real. Everywhere I go, I suffer. No matter how high I get, no matter how many degrees I get, I'm still looking around.

Seana Goodson [00:19:40]:
It's like, did they make a mistake that they know that they let me in this program? Did they know that they're giving me this job? You go through that. And I wish I would have known about imposter syndrome and how to deal with it, but I'm coping with it now. I'm learning. Like, girl, you're smart. Chill out, you're okay. You'll be fine. So that's the one thing, because I know a lot of people will suffer that, especially coming into grad school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:20:03]:
Finally, as we finish up today, as you think back to graduate school, at your MBA at the DBA level, and you're thinking about other people that are coming behind you. Beyond what you just said, are there other tips that you might want to offer anyone else that could help them find success in graduate school sooner?

Seana Goodson [00:20:21]:
Find your tribe. That's the one key thing. And University of Michigan has so many resources out here. It's so tons of resources. We have caps with Dr. Tookes. We have so many different programs, so many different organizations you can join. But like I said, once you start, like, just find your tribe.

Seana Goodson [00:20:41]:
Once you find your tribe, you're going to feel so at ease. You're going to see other people who are going through the same things that you're going through. For us at Umich Flint, there is no excuse because you have so many resources. You have the graduate school office, who is amazing. Teresa, who's over there, amazing. It's so many amazing people. And even if you're doing this online, please find the time to go to the campus, the most beautiful campus that there is, with the river running down the back. Please go.

Seana Goodson [00:21:08]:
The library. Beautiful. Just go. And once you do, I think you should touch that soil at least one time. And if you can't, just look at it online. It's absolutely beautiful. And stay in touch with the graduate school office because they are a wealth of knowledge. And a wealth of resources.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:25]:
Well, Shawna, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you so much for everything that you shared today and for everything that you're doing as you're working toward finishing up that doctorate degree for yourself, that dissertation, and reaching the goals that you've set for yourself. I'm really excited to watch your journey in the future and to be able to see where you end up in the future as well. And I wish you all the best.

Seana Goodson [00:21:49]:
Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me and Go Blue!

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:52]:
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 UM Flint 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 [e-mail].