Evelyn Fernández-Ketcham Shares Message with Doctoral Students at Yeshiva University

DSA board member Evelyn Fernández-Ketcham, a Ph.D. student at the Wuzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, shared a message with doctoral students. Below, you can read her message, as published via the Yeshiva University Wurzweiler School of Social Work PhD Newsletter:

My current research interest and dissertation topic is focused on emerging adulthood, 18- to 29-year-olds. My involvement in the Wurzweiler Ph.D. program has been great for me, and it’s already impacting my work greatly. I am actually carrying out a survey research that will contribute to the scholarly community and inform my practice. I plan to use the baseline data from my dissertation to implement a larger scale research project across community colleges in the City University of New York.

To my fellow Ph.D. colleagues approaching the dissertation phase, I would say: 1) listen to your committee—they are the experts in helping you to the finish line (they are your allies); 2) everyday, even if it’s an hour, engage in an activity that contributes to advancing your dissertation (as simple as updating your references); and 3) steer away from the temptation to rush completing your dissertation: at the same time, balance managing urgency and patience is required to get you to the end (embrace the process).

As an old proverb says, “It’s better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”