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Race is an issue many people will deal with in their lifetimes. It is even more prevalent for college students thinking about going beyond a bachelor’s degree.

To be a graduate student — be it a master’s student or doctoral candidate — is a unique journey.  Earning a graduate degree is a more defined experience than earning a bachelor’s, especially for students of color and Black students in particular.

Simply finding a community as a graduate student at Syracuse University was difficult for Khira Fryar, who earned her bachelor’s from SU in 2014 and two master’s degrees in 2016. Even with her familiarity with the campus, her experience was different as a graduate student. She came into her master’s programs knowing only a sorority sister and one other graduate student. Fryar was essentially on her own.

“I didn’t know any Black graduate students at all actually, other than one of my sorority sisters, but she had already graduated, and she’s actually the one that put me in contact with (Black Graduate Student Association),” Fryar said.

Adjusting to graduate school can be tough regardless of one’s major, but when adding race to it, the process can be even more difficult. While Fryar said her experience was unique for her because she worked more than one job and had more than one internship while also being a student, she sees the need for a designated space for Black graduate students to decompress.

“I think it is so important for Black grad students to be able to have a place that feels safe that they can have fun,” Fryar said.

Visibility itself is an issue that sometimes can be left out of the conversation of the graduate student experience. The population of graduate students is a smaller pool, and when adding in race, the pool becomes even smaller. Unless an effort is made by a Black graduate student to go out of their way to find classmates that look like them, it’s difficult to fit in. This is especially true when reflecting on students’ experiences after graduating.

“If you weren’t seeing people in class, you really weren’t seeing anyone unless you went out to search for places and spaces for Black grads,” Fryar said.

Depending on the program, making time to be sociable is difficult, as graduate work is even more time consuming than undergraduate work. It’s why your classmates are sometimes your first or only lifelines when attempting to create a life outside of studying. 

Prior to the pandemic, David Wilcox, a first-year graduate student at SU, found himself scanning the classroom to see if there were other students who looked like him.

“I definitely do go out of my way,” Wilcox said.

Due to the small number of Black graduate students both on campus and in his Master of Public Affairs program, he makes an effort to get to know other Black graduate students in his program first. Wilcox recognizes the importance of connecting with other Black graduate students, not only for social reasons but also to build a professional networking pool outside of one’s school. It’s also helpful, he said, to find emotional support with a fellow student who can relate to his academic experience and remind him that no one is alone in the academic process.

Wilcox’s experience is different not only because of his race but also because of his gender. Since he is one of a few Black men in his program, representation matters, he said.

“Talking to some of my classmates, you get a sense of where they come from. Now, I’m not calling anybody racist or any of that. I have yet to even experience microaggressions or what have you,” Wilcox said. “But I do recognize that I’m probably one of the few Black people that they have come in contact with that’s on (an academic) level similar to theirs because I’ve had experience similar to their own, so I do take it as a responsibility to carry myself well.”

As for myself, I’m grateful that I immediately met students who looked like me in my classes, even if it was just a few, and that I eventually met others throughout my school. It helped make the experience a little bit easier knowing I was not the only one. 

 

Camille Daniels is a graduate student in the magazine, newspaper and online journalism program. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at cdaniels@syr.edu.

 

Published on November 15, 2020 at 10:11 pm