Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the workshop “Rediscover Your Why: Clarifying Your Purpose in Grad School”: coming up on Monday, December 14 at 12pm Central time. 

This workshop is part of the “Grad Gather & Grow Speaker Series” at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A collaboration among the Graduate School, Graduate Student Organization, and Student Government Association, this virtual speaker series is “an opportunity to reset after a taxing semester and learn new skills and strategies for moving forward.”

Workshop Description

What brought you to graduate studies? What do you hope to take away? What work are you called to in the world? And why this work?

Designed for graduate students across disciplines, this interactive workshop focuses on reconnecting with your why. Together, we’ll engage in contemplative practices aimed at clarifying motivations and using commitments to guide decisions throughout and beyond graduate studies.

You can learn more about the workshop and “Grad Gather & Grow” events here.

Handouts

Download these handouts to use during the interactive online workshop.

1. Handout — Writing a Commitment Statement
2. Handout — Identifying Strong Yeses and Hell Nos
3. Handout — 10 Writing Prompts for Career Discernment

Additional Resources

What Is Career Discernment?
Clarifying purpose often involves career discernment, or reflective decision-making, because the questions of what, where, when, with whom, and why we’re called to graduate studies involve a lot of other BIG questions, including how we understand ourselves, our place in the world, the possibilities available to us, and much more. Learn more about career discernment through this past blog post.

Why Career Discernment Matters?
This 11-minute video created for the University of Minnesota Graduate School shares guiding principles of career discernment, including how to write a commitment statement and use it as a navigation tool (for ongoing reflection and re-commitment).

Beth’s Writing in Inside Higher Ed:
These articles share Beth’s career discernment process, addressing the following topics:

• Making decisions intuitively to follow your “strong yes”
• Saying no in order to say yes to what aligns with your commitments
• Identifying narratives and influences that have shaped your work journey
• Discerning what’s next for your career—both in the near and the far future
• Planning when and how to announce career changes
• Sifting through others’ responses to your career decisions
• Transitioning from faculty positions to alt-ac, non-ac, and post-ac careers
• Working with burnout and seasonal rhythms in higher education
• Recognizing and allowing for professional identify shifts over time

Beyond This Workshop

I’d love to stay connected beyond this workshop! Here are some ways:

1. Join my mailing list to receive regular updates.
   
   
2. Become a subscriber via Patreon (with options from $3/month) to receive regular updates, Q&A newsletters, course discounts, and one-with-one coaching, depending on the subscription tier.
   
   
3. Join an upcoming writing retreat. Currently, there are six options (all around the new year): Dec. 28, 29, 30 and Jan. 4, 6, 7. You could register for one of these day-long retreats, or attend multiple days, or join all six. And this month I’m running a promotion: become a Patreon subscriber, and join one day-long writing retreat for free. 
   
   
4. Reach out with feedback or questions about this workshop.

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This post is written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. for Heart-Head-Hands.com. If you’d like additional support through graduate education, check out my writing groups and writing retreats, one-with-one coaching, and e-course “Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments.”