 Good afternoon everybody. My name is Zoe. I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science. I'm going into my fifth year. I study public opinion, political behavior. And I'm also Vice President of Students of Color of Rackham, which is a really great group I hope you get involved with while you're here. And yeah, looking forward to this panel. Hi everyone. My name is Vivian Niemira. I use her pronouns. I'm a second year master's student studying higher education with a concentration in public policy. Welcome to Michigan. So my name is Juliana Loeta-Wiggins. I'm in the Department of American Culture. I'm starting my fifth year in the PhD program. I'm also a certificate student in the Center for World Performance Studies and the program for Latina, Latino and Latinx Studies. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So my first question for y'all is what do you wish you knew in your first year here? Yeah. So, first, one of the biggest things that I wish I had known my first year was how to access mental health resources on campus. You know, mental health issues are really disproportionately high for grad students in general, but especially for students of color, women of color. And while we do learn a little bit about CAPS, I think in our orientation to the university, we don't learn about how to go beyond CAPS. And so if you need sustained treatment and care, there's not a whole lot of discussion of what options are available to you, particularly if you're like a PhD student and you have the graduate student insurance. What are your options? How much are you going to have to pay for a co-pay, et cetera? So, yeah, that's one of the biggest things I wish I had known how to deal with that, how to pay for mental health care, and then also how to navigate relationships with your advisors. So, you know, I came from a background where asking for help, particularly from people who had a power over you, was not really encouraged. I just sort of figure things out on my own. And in grad school, it's just really not feasible to do that. And you often end up wasting time or wasting your resources when you don't rely on people you can trust for help. And it can be tricky to figure out who you can trust, like who's a safe person. But it's so important to find a safe person and literally ask them for everything, even the smallest questions. There's norms and etiquette and rules that you don't, you know, sort of hitting curriculum that you don't learn about unless you have a relationship with an advisor. So, while SCORE is really great for sure, I've loved their events in the past. For the first few months of my time at Michigan, I didn't know that there are also other groups or other ways that I could connect with other students of color on campus. And for me as a Southeast Asian woman of color and a daughter of refugees, I've found that Wakata, which stands for a woman of color at the Academy, the APIA grads lists serve and safe, which is students allied for freedom and equality or just a few of the spaces that I've been connected with other students and meet other students of color, specifically from backgrounds similar to my own. And also something I'll say is it might be a little bit awkward at first, but there are a lot of clubs on campus that on the surface might seem only open to undergraduates are only open to students from that specific school, but I'd say just go to their schools and reach out to them because most of the time these are open to other students and it can be a really nice way to also make some interdisciplinary friendships or connections. Yeah, what I wish I knew, just what Vivian and Zoe said, I went to SCORE events when I first moved to Michigan and I thought that those were just communities that I was like, oh, great. Even though I came from a Hispanic serving institution coming to a predominantly white institution, I would think I noticed more of like a lack rather than like actually an abundance of like amazing people. And so SCORE is like an amazing resource but I wish I knew my first year was just about navigating these resources just like what my fellow panelists said is like, take the time to go to events. I don't have to read everything. I wish I had known just like you don't have to read three books a week if that's your jam, go for it. I wish I had known that really the first year is just making friends or making connections, make friends with your neighbors and your apartment building just, you know, talk to folks who might not also be involved in the community or the University of Michigan because I think you can lose yourself having to think you have to do everything for your classes like, you know, it's just an easier way also to acknowledge that like you might struggle at times too. So yeah, use the first year to navigate all of these resources in the community in and out of Michigan. Thank you, y'all. Thank you. I would also add for me what I wish I'd known in my first year as a black student is that just because a professor is black does not mean that we will vibe but does that mean that they will be supportive does not mean that they will be supportive that our research interests or ideas about how to critically approach research will align. And that was honestly a more devastating blow for me that I realize now that I had expectations that were unrealistic. So I definitely wish I had known that like, just because a professor, especially becoming from a predominantly white institution and coming here and like, oh my gosh there's multiple professors who are black in my department like we're going to be such good friends. No, that's not necessarily the case. And so to find your people intellectually spiritually and to look for that, because this journey in grad school is quite long. And like Juliana said, classes don't really matter as much as like the community will get you through community will get you through that these are long years. Yeah, and I would definitely wish I had focused more on that my first year. Okay, y'all so now that we've talked about what you wish you would knew known your first year. What do you wish you had done in your first year. Building on Sam's point about community. So I started grad school, like, right before COVID hit like late 2019. So, even though I didn't have many opportunities to like connect with people in person. Once the pandemic really picked up and everything was shut down. I wish I had taken that first semester to really like do every activity possible. And instead I spent a lot of time obsessing over problem sets and trying to read three books a week to Juliana's point. Things that didn't really end up serving me in the long run the way that building community would have. So, obviously, you know, all the first years here won't have to worry about a global pandemic in the next couple years but regardless I think you should spend as much time as you can find your people in the first few months of school. That's the best time to do it and those connections are going to carry you through your entire PhD process. Yeah, I'll speak a little bit to like the master's experience since it is a little bit short term and this kind of depends on your program but I really wish that I was a little bit more strategic with my courses and my electives in a way that was really maximizing the time I got to spend on my interests or like speaking to my own identities. I feel like last year was kind of on autopilot kind of just doing whatever my program was encouraging us to do. And it was kind of keeping myself from overcoming that imposter imposter syndrome that I was feeling that was stopping me from challenging myself more. Like last semester I got to take a law course. It was such a culture shock, but I honestly really found it so rewarding to just learn about how other people think about the same subjects as I am from a different perspective. So I really think like if you have the opportunity, maybe try to take a class outside of what you've already felt comfortable in or just something that really interests you and you can also audit if you want something that's kind of like a lower commitment to autopilot is a really good way to do it. So two things that I wish I had done my first year. First is that I wish I had kept up the hobbies and kind of kept the networks that I had cultivated in New Mexico and moved here from New Mexico. And I just wish that I had like maintained my active lifestyle I feel like I really gave that up my first year because I was like nose in the books the whole time. And so I just wish I had really kept my networks intact and also possibly like joined a network here right. In terms of like being just active. And second, I wish I had done less compromising of my identity to please faculty. I did a lot of that my first year and sort of like what Vivian was saying or it's like you know, you're, you're on a certain track, and you are meant to write a certain way read a certain way and that really doesn't suit me doesn't suit my needs it doesn't like fill my cup to write in this sort of prose that is not like what my heart speaks it's not my language you know. So I just wish I had really just leaned into more about who I am, and use this time as an exploratory process into my own star scholarly identity, because what I do is completely based on my identity itself my personal identity so I just wish I had done less compromising with faculty and told them what I think they would like to hear versus like what I actually thought. So thank you. All that definitely resonates and for me some mine is much more practical of what I wish I'd done my first year I wish I was to Detroit more. I wish I had gone to the city I that is one of the most famous black cities in the country in the world. And there's a bus that takes you there I wish I part like just like grouped up with folks and gotten more zip cars or rented cars and just like went out to Detroit and didn't. rely on the bus to try to get back and just like maybe stayed and gotten an Airbnb I don't know but you know it's just it's right there. And it's so rich. And I wish I had. And maybe not focus so much on class classes and like gone just gone to the city more and like Chicago's also right there you can take a bus for like five hours and you'll get there and it's just definitely I would say take advantage of this proximity to some of the, some of these like incredible cities. Okay yeah so what were the best things that helped you when you first got here. Yeah. So, I think having spaces specifically for students of color. Was the greatest help to me so their score of course, which is a larger organization but within my department, we also had a group specifically for students of color. And that not only helped me establish like a sense of community, but it introduced me to older students who could guide me and like help me figure out, you know my footing in the first couple years. And some of the things that some of the most important things I've learned as a grad student have come from getting advice from like older students who I could relate to. Yeah, I would say like, find not just faculty mentors, but also student mentors, you know, sort of peer mentors, who can help you, you know, not just with the social aspects but with the academic aspects to, because oftentimes, they have more like front end knowledge the questions that you have the professors who've been detached from what it means to be a grad student for like 1015 years, sometimes longer than that, oftentimes longer than that. Yeah. Um, three main things that helped me when I first got to Michigan. Well, the first would be like utilizing the holistic wellness center on campus. Tried caps. Just, it just didn't vibe well with me. And I just couldn't figure out to be honest like what, so I was saying earlier, trying to figure out insurance stuff is really hard with their, like, therapy or counseling. So I use them and they're really great. I think that the approach they take is just really user friendly or like beginner friendly and it just worked well with my schedule since I had a pretty busy schedule. Also just like meeting students and getting added to whatever listservs or group chats that they're in can be really nice, especially if you don't think you'll have a lot of time to go to events or just like work that into your schedule. It's really nice to just have like a virtual space to ask questions to a lot of like more advanced students who just have like that blueprint where all the resources at Michigan are just like opportunities are just like joking about different things. It's just really nice to have. And then the last thing is I got a bike and Arbor super bike friendly, a lot of really nice trails and roads and it's just really nice sometimes to get distance from the school so if you're into that kind of thing would definitely recommend that. Um, when we got this question it's like three things came to mind. First was I invested in a warm winter coat. I am definitely afraid of snow. I, it's insane here. So, I'm like all blushing because I like it's it's dumb but like get a warm winter coat if you're not used to it. That was like the best thing ever. Also the mason blue. Oh, LL bean winter coat. Totally worth the investment is actually relatively affordable too. Um, and yes get the boots. So anyways, the mason blue covered also it's like this food pantry on campus. Best thing ever you I wasn't really like financially like in need like I just really sought it out because it's convenient I was on campus almost every day anyways. And they have anything from like feminine hygiene products to toilet paper to milk, eggs, flour, bread, all of the basics you need and you can get it for free. And they also have little thank you notes that you can send to folks who donated as well so mason blue covered is super convenient and on campus and I still use it right now, since I'm still living locally. And the best thing was that I joined the Latinx R I W. It's called like the recommended disciplinary workshops I don't know if you Zoe or Vivian are in an R I W. But that next graduate students have our own I began as a member so I went to a meeting. My first, my first year fell in love with the folks who I got to meet because it was the most Latinx grad students I had ever seen in a room at Michigan. So it was really incredible to meet folks from other departments. And now I'm also the director, or like co coordinator of the Latinx R I W. And that's been really worthwhile to meet incoming Latinx students. And also I went to a lot of undergraduate events. My first year here that were directed toward Latinx undergrad so la casa is an amazing organization they welcome anyone. And I went because it was an event for Latinx students and I got to hang out with undergrads who also eventually became my students so it was just a really beautiful way to build community with folks in in different ways to but by going to events mostly. Thank you y'all thank you. For me, the best things that I've done a line along the lines with Zoe is like connecting with older students is was so vital. They are here to support you honestly go up or send them an email find out who they are asked for ask for a coffee they will sit down they'll talk with you they'll tell you the ends in the outs of the department. The who's who the what's what, and how they got to where they are. And so I would definitely recommend doing that. So, what one of the best things that helped me was building community outside of, not just my department, but also outside of Michigan University of Michigan, and with folks in Detroit with folks, locals and in arbor and it's landing folks who aren't so that you can not just be surrounded by grad students all the time. It's really nice to sometimes be able to just be a person with folks and so that is definitely one of the best things that I did. That helped me when I got here. Okay, also now we're going to transition into the q amp a portion of our session. And, but before we do my colleague is going to place our evaluation survey in the chat, can you please do me a favor and just open the link now so that you'll have the tab ready and waiting for you when we're done. This helps us improve our programming for you. So here that will move to the q amp a by keeping stack, which for those of y'all who have missed it is just going down the line of those who have flag that they have a question in order of appearance. And you can get on the stack in three ways by using the raise your hand function, and I will call on you by simply writing stack in the chat and I will call on you or writing your question in the chat, and I will ask it for you. Please so that the closed captioning can capture everything that you have to say, and also I want to remind us that we may not get to every question, but we'll provide the panelists email addresses at the end of the q amp a so that you can reach out to them personally with any unanswered questions and also I want to mention for those of you who weren't here at the beginning. Please change your name to the name that you registered with so that we can know that you're here. Okay. We'd like to ask you a question. Can you hear me. Can you all hear me. Yes. Yes. Okay, because nobody was saying anything. I thought I was talking to myself. Um, I don't know if either is it Zoe. Zoe, yeah. Zoe, um, I'm currently coming from an HBCU to University of Michigan. So, I don't even know if you all like know of someone or either Sam or Zoe. How did you kind of adapt to the environment and was it somewhat hard because right now I'm here like during the summer right now, you know, transition to fall and it seems so far so good but is there things that I might need to like watch out of like you know maybe if somebody seeming nicer than they should and it's like I feel comfortable and then it kind of just, you know, flops on me type of thing. Yeah, that's that's a great question destiny. First thing I'll say is, if you haven't already connected with the HBCU alumni group just started they're really great they do a bunch of events score we do stuff with them to. They're really great resource, and I can like send you stuff about that you haven't already found it. I would say that. So I didn't come from HBCU undergrad I went to a primary undergrad as well. So I've been dealing with this, you know, like nine years or something like that now. You know, you will encounter folks who talk down to you who think that because you're black, or because you're from the south or because you're from an HBCU that you don't know what you're talking about. And I think one of the biggest things you can do to like protect your own sanity is just like not to doubt yourself when you experience those micro aggressions, like just acknowledged yeah this happened to me and this was racist. Like, you don't have to, you know, debate with yourself like what's this know if you feel uncomfortable. It was probably a bad interaction it was a racist interaction. And you can proceed from there to, you know, set boundaries around that person that you feel comfortable with. You don't have to, you know, feel obligated to talk to folks who are disrespectful to you, or to, you know, be polite to them. But whatever you're comfortable with you should set that boundary and don't surround yourself with people who don't respect you and all your accomplishments. And the second thing I would just say is you deserve to be here. So also don't let those people get into your head, because they're wrong. I think that they're better than you for some reason, or that you're not smart enough to engage in a conversation. They're wrong. And they're probably just really insecure in themselves and they're projecting it on to you. So, unfortunately, it will happen. But like you, you have the power to set boundaries around people who make you feel uncomfortable. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing your story and along those lines. Honestly, I think the best way to navigate this for all of us is community you need to find your community and, and I would say that should be your focus first year, not classes. Not anything else like make sure that you find your people because they will have similar experiences and the way you get through this is through emotional support. Yes, all classes like matter, sort of. But it is, it is everybody's sort of grimacing. But I would say it's the, it's the emotional spiritual connections that you make that will get you through these tough times, whether it be academic or social or anything you encounter. Okay, so someone asks, how do you deal with students who give off a demeanor that they know more than you just because you're a person of color. This person struggled with this topic a lot and undergrad and deals with students who assumed to know more than me, because of the color of their skin. I can take this on I think we're like sitting with that because it's probably maybe happened unfortunately. I feel like it's compounded, especially like identifying as a woman, a woman of color in these spaces where I mean even just like the style of the classrooms are like not conducive to building community getting to know one another and so you, I did feel in this, I know. How do I answer this it's really just like, how do you deal with it like what Zoe said like, you got to move on that's not your person. That's just like not someone who might be in your circle. But I've also learned a lot how to communicate my feelings by like kind of reflecting on how I felt and understanding that this is a completely different region to me this is not how. Maybe people find interactions. You know, also, I just had a complete culture shock when I came here. I'm not really answering the question I just that question brings up a lot for me, especially with folks who I interact with who might have come from like an Ivy League or like a top tier institution. And so it's a lot of this kind of ranking that happens. And so, with that you just kind of have to move on like, and I don't know I found a therapist to be able to talk things through with that was really helpful. And just know that people like that are going to exist. They exist, not just in students but they're in faculty to. So yeah, I didn't really answer the question I think it brought up a lot of emotions for me. So thank you for that question. I was actually the one that asked the question so I can give a hi hello. I'm staring at two monitors so I might look weird, but just to kind of expand on it a little bit more. It was mostly classmates that would do that, because there were only two of us in the class. And that's in like, most that was a most of my classes so that that's kind of how they made me feel a lot to where I feel like I had to work a little harder. And it kind of made me question myself when deep down I know that I don't have to question myself but that's just how they made me feel and sometimes these were classmates that I had to work with too. So, like how do I combat that to where I have to work with them on group projects but I have to kind of find common ground and I don't want to come off as you know an angry black woman because I'm addressing the situation. I can answer your question but I'll try my best. Last semester I was in a class and the whole class was like structured around group projects and was like, only woman of color in my group, I felt really uncomfortable because we did have a lot of interpersonal issues, and it I was, I felt really stressed like all the time I felt really uncomfortable even bringing it up to my professor who is a white man. But at the end of the day I, I took that step and I did talk it through with him, which does take trust and not everybody is deserving of that, but it did make me feel better and I did feel supported. And I did talk to another person in that class who addressed it way earlier before we had our group set, and he switched them out of the group. So he they didn't have to deal with that person so I think that you know in some cases, there are opportunities where it is uncomfortable to vocalize what you need but it might be for the best. And then also just like there are some moments where what I love about grad schools you don't have to see everybody all the time and you don't have to pretend to be friends with people so I just don't talk to people who are not deserving of my time. And it feels really great not having to like deal with like micro questions all the time. So also would try that if you know that's open for you. Yeah, I agree with everything Vivian said, and I would also just like add on that, you know, when it comes to like stereotypes, angry black women stereotype whatever stereotype like your, you know, identity faces. People are going to assume that about you no matter what you do. You can be the nicest, sweetest person ever and they're still going to label you, you know, with the stereotypes that they bring to the table. So I would say, don't let that fear of becoming a stereotype influence your actions or push you to like hold back who you are because you can be perfect and they're still going to put stereotypes on you. Thanks y'all and the you had a question. Can you hear me. Perfect because the wife is kind of spotty. But hello. I'm an incoming PhD student in the higher ed department, and thankfully the program that I'm in itself is really diverse the faculty might not be as diverse. But I wanted to know specifically like the University of Michigan it seems to kind of group all students of color together and not really giving each specific affinity group or identity group, their own space to have their own thing. So, how do you all navigate with not just being a student of color or a woman of color but being a black woman being an Asian woman being a Latin X or Hispanic woman and finding those spaces with your specific racial identity. And my second question is, do you find that your department allow you to be involved. Do they allow you to be involved in like faculty searches or like when they're hiring new faculty, do they allow students to sit on panels or like ask questions during panels when they're doing interviews and stuff like that because I know my department they're seeking faculty in the next couple of years and I'm wondering if like do they take student input, or do you feel like I'm just a student I really don't have much power in that. I can take a stab at this one. So, yeah, I think to your first of all congratulations I like higher ed students a lot. But so yeah, I think like to your point, or to your observation that Michigan lumps POC together I also see from my experience as a Latina. I mean, since we are such a very small community at Michigan speaking about the Latin X community I see like a lot of kind of black versus white at Michigan and I also see it as kind of like, well here's an award if you do anti racist work and that usually people of color who take on this sort of research right and I think that's Michigan trying to alleviate these sorts of issues like oh like we're predominantly white but we also have opportunities for people of color too. So I do feel like sometimes the labor falls on us to have to build up our communities from the ground up. I've been a lot of my experience here, but I think what I have been able to I think to make a difference in American culture, because American my department houses all of ethnic studies across the university so we have Latin X studies. We have Native American studies and I actually am able to sit on these executive committee meetings in my department to help hire, or help in these hiring searches but also as a Latin X certificate student I go to a lot of job talks across the university in the humanities, and I am able to give input about candidates for hire within the Latin X certificate program or Latin X faculty who might do work not even on Latin X communities right because you don't always do work on your own affinity group So, yeah I found that I have a little bit of, I wouldn't even say sway but I'm definitely able to give input as a Latin X student on kind of like vibes that I get from incoming faculty and that's just from getting involved on my committees. And usually your department will send an email out. I don't know how other departments work but mine sends an email out if you're interested in joining these committees. Does anyone else have anything to add to Nia's question? Yeah I would also say finding folks is an endeavor that one has to put effort into finding black people specifically because and it's also easy to stick with the folks in your department or the folks in your cohort because like you spend a lot of time with those folks and like to go out but that's not, that might not be people who are racially similar to you and to go out and to look for events, just flag down people on the street and say hey like you seem cool, do you want to hang out. There's what I, community building will take work. But I, and it's not necessarily work that the university tries to foster in particular ways like you said students of color, but for particular for your specific racial group it will take intention or intentionality is what I will say and effort and I think that effort is well spent. And yeah some my department now has students on committee for new hires, but that's only recently because we had issues and the students brought up those issues and so they may changes. And so now we actually get a voice and who's being brought in. But I don't know if that's the same across the board. Okay, panelists, do you feel, did you feel or do you feel imposter syndrome as a POC slash WOC. And how do you work through that. So yes, all the time every day. I think, I can't remember if Julianne or Vivian made this point earlier. I think therapy is one of the best ways you can help to alleviate or deal with the symptoms of imposter syndrome, or whatever, you know, sort of mental practices, you know, speak to you and put your lifestyle, but you have to make time to take care of yourself and like understand where those feelings are coming from. I watched a commencement address the other day, and the speaker was talking about how we treat imposter syndrome like it's this individual problem that individuals need to solve. And I apologize that like, Oh, these people just have imposter syndrome and they just need like to cure it somehow and then everything will be fine, but imposter syndrome is a systemic issue. These systems and institutions have excluded certain groups of people for a long time and still are. And, you know, I think we have to take the weight off of ourselves like, you know, from like completely eliminating imposter syndrome or getting rid of it you're going to get rid of it until these institutions are completely rebuilt. The best we can do in the meantime is just to cope and take care of ourselves. So, yeah, I guess my response to that would just be that you'll never completely get rid of imposter syndrome, because it's baked into our institutions. But you can find ways to cope with it in the meantime. I also see that there's a question underneath that that's talking about like sessions to help. If I remember correctly, RACM does have some sessions at least last year they did talking about imposter syndrome, and it was kind of helpful to go to RACM and just hear that there are other people who also feel the same exact way that I am. And I think just some general advice that my advisor gave to me is just like treat class like practice, not a performance. You know, you need to be perfect and like it was super intimidating to be in a class, and everybody has like things and paragraphs and everything like citing, like off, offhand. So, you don't have to be that way. Great if you, you are, but it's okay if you're not, you know, wherever you're at. And like, there's no right way to perform student or to be a student so just, just do you. I would like to add y'all that imposter syndrome is unfortunately natural for graduate students. I don't think there's a graduate student, regardless of how they might seem on the outside who hasn't experienced this and like as I said it is just an unfortunate consequence of the way of the institution and of being a graduate student, but it's natural and it is something that you can and will overcome as with more practice and time and care. Naomi, do you still have a question. Do you have another one. Yes, I do. Okay, so I went to a PWI and I never count my people through all four and a half years. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes. So what are some key points that I could do to you know find people that have the same interest and even if there's different things that you know I could learn from someone as they could learn from me, but also I would like to input that I am commuting from Detroit. So you know sidebar someone wants to come on down to the city I will show you around, but yeah. Oh that's the end of my question. That's a really great question I think it goes back to what I wish I had done, but like you're coming from Detroit and I think this can this applies to everyone here but like you're going to be surrounded by a whole other community that is at this point kind of separated from Michigan like Michigan tries like has its fingers kind of in every community in a different way, but Detroit is such a cool, cool place like there's something going on and so I think like, you know, build connections outside of Michigan those will be also who your people are, they don't have to be affiliated with the university it's sometimes nice to connect with people who. Sometimes I call them like real people. Like, you know folks who like work and nine to five right we have a lot of flexibility and that's totally a blessing. It's also important like go into your own community and see what, what can you teach, like, or what can you do in Detroit how can you be a steward of your own work and of your own values in Detroit, for example, so I think that this is like a really cool opportunity for you to like kind of immerse yourself get like down with the city because it's super cool. Also visit Southwest Detroit to that's predominantly Latinx. Yeah, I totally agree with Juliana. And I would also add, you know, as a black student who also went into a PWI for undergrad with similar like percentages as Michigan. It can be really hard when we restrict ourselves to like one university to find our people. So I would encourage you to like build connections with other grad students especially black grad students at other schools. Like my closest like grad student friends are not even in the state of Michigan, but they're in PhD programs across the country, and we meet up at conferences and like we see each other, you know throughout the year and we, we text all the time. And that type of stuff also helps keep me grounded and feeling like I have a sense of community that goes beyond the Michigan sort of bubble. I don't have a lot to add, but something I didn't know is like, there are a lot of people on Instagram, and a lot of people on Twitter, like, academic Twitter academic Instagram that you can make really great connections with on like find really cool events and just meet really awesome people. So I would recommend that. Thank you. Someone asked a place to find student orgs online I know Zoe answered it in the chat is there anyone else who wanted to double deeper. Sorry Sam what was the question. A place to find student orgs organizations. Is there some place that you would recommend beyond maze pages. Yeah, maze maze is a good step. I can't remember the name of it but like, maybe it's called like maze sessions where you can just see like every single day what events are happening. To be honest, I use that to find like free food on campus but sometimes you can also find like really interesting events or affinity group events to. I follow organizations on campus so that costa for example. I just, they update their calendars with events but on Instagram they're always like posting what's up what's new. So I use mostly social media to find out events and also flyers on campus I'm like all old school. I'll like find a flyer and like go to the event anyone does that anymore. But yeah I think that they're still super effective. So if you're on central campus, the Haven slash Angel Hall, there's always tons of posters for everything going on in there. Thanks y'all we have time for a couple of more do you have any tips for being told that someone's accent is too hard to understand and are there any affinity groups for women or people from Southeast Asia. I know that in the international session panels last week. Representative from Grand Graduate Rackham International. The student organization said that he made a point to say that someone, he had a worry about his accent when he started teaching. GSI and TA, I forget which one is called here, but started teaching courses and the person who was working with them told him don't ever lose your accent, like people will understand you. It is, it is who you are and don't ever try to shrink or hide who you are to fit into this space. Just like Juliana was saying earlier. Not much to add again but there aren't any groups specific to Southeast Asian students, which can be hard sometimes when like the larger Asian groups on campus are dominated by East Asians. I would still recommend maybe trying to join them on grin is great international houses also. I don't know if it's affiliated with campus but also a great place to meet people and also API a grads. It's also really nice and trying to find people. Destiny you have your hand raised. Yes. Okay. So, my question is, because I don't know if anybody on here is from like, other than I know Juliana's from like you might see her but I'm from North Carolina, so I am from the south, coming up here to the midway. We kind of say okay there, you have the, the categorization of racism, but then also mannerism. I still have not figured out which is which because at this point, like, there's things that I do and I'm like, this is my type of mannerism, but am I taking this as like a slight to me, or to how I was raised. So it's kind of a thing of how do you kind of differentiate or, or, I don't know, like catarise, which is which because that's the one thing I'm like a little confused because I've had at one point because I'm in the med school right now I was in the like the hospital parking and literally blatantly this person like literally did not say excuse me and just walk straight and I'm just like, I mean I know you saw me, but I don't know like, when to say okay was, should I have addressed that or should it just kind of just let it go by the wayside type of thing. That's the only part like I'm a little confused about still being here. I don't totally know how to answer this is a good question. I've been in the Midwest my whole life, and I have a lot of family in the South so I would say like in general people in the Midwest are not as nice. It's like a little more rude. So that's just something to like keep in mind culturally. Yeah, but I think like if somebody does something that's offensive and like rude. So, I don't think there's anything wrong with sticking up for yourself and saying something like in that in this situation you just described it seems like it was pretty obvious that they're being rude so definitely, I would definitely say don't back down. If you feel like uncertain like you should. I would add to that trust your trust your gut to everyone here there will be instances and an arbor where you don't know. Because there are a lot of like, there's a certain way about folks that makes it seem like you're the one who who's off but trust your gut, your gut will will always guide you and help you understand what what is happening even if everyone else around you is saying something different. Okay y'all. Thank you this has been wonderful and I know you have more questions and we will make sure to add your panelists email addresses so that you can reach out to them. Before we go I'd like to ask the panelists one final question. What is the biggest piece of advice that you would like to leave our audience members with today as they begin their new journey here at Michigan. Okay I have to. One is take up space. You deserve to be here, you deserve to have all of the resources that Michigan offers students, you deserve all of it, apply for everything, take up everything. And also rest is power. And I'm so serious about that rest is resistance, make time to rest your body will thank you down the line for it. Don't don't, you know, exhaust yourself trying to get through these programs. I kind of too as well. I'd say Michigan's a really big school, and it's super easy to feel replaceable and for that imposter syndrome to kick in. And while it is tempting to then go after every opportunity you find whether it's a fellowship or research project just because like that work culture here. It's really important as Zoe was saying to guard your time and your energy. It's really important to be discerning about what opportunities you're choosing to take on how it aligns like with your values and your time. And specifically as students of color, there's going to be a lot of people on campus that want you to sit on like di related councils or do di work. So be extra guarded about that. So what opportunities that you're taking in and what parts of yourself that they're going to want from you because school just like alone is just so emotionally draining. So even if the ask seems small just like be cautious of that. Yeah, I think just to come full circle is that there can sometimes be a lacking mentality, especially at a PWI as a person of color. But, you know, I think actually seeing about the kind of effect that we have as individuals on our respective communities I think that that is really beautiful to see we are here we're here to stay known as you're going to push us around, because we have to be here and so just, you know, keep that strength up and also just find joy in something, whether it's going to the gym, taking a ceramic class I took singing lessons. So just do something that will push you in a comfort zone that is not related to the university because your life is not dictated and should not be dictated, and is not measured by your, you know, by the institution right just here be here to be your fabulous self. Thanks y'all and I would add. Don't try to do everything. They're learning to prioritize will be your I think greatest strength. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and you take you with you as you go through this so you have to prioritize you over everything your coursework it's not going to carry you through your. That that saying yes to everything that's not going to carry you through your physical spiritual psychological emotional health is what will get you through this program, and also a conditional pass is still a pass. And with that said, that is all the time that we have for today I want to thank everyone in the audience for their presence and their participation and I want to thank our wonderful panelists for giving both their time and their expertise to us today. The recording of this event will be sent to you once it has been processed and remember when you get the opportunity for short break pop over to the evaluation survey so we can keep improving our programming for you. Thank you and take care of yourselves.