Can you describe an instance where emotional support from the group directly affected your academic progress?
Emotional support. That's an interesting one. I think as I've explained, that having Darron around and Andrew at the beginning helped me with a sense of "let me tag along with these smart cats and maybe i can get by." So there was that. Then with Anne, I felt a sense of belonging from another professional. So in terms of "imposter syndrome" having the group helped me over come those things.
But then I also think about the number of times that William would express, "Don't worry, we promised we'd all get through this." Again, I don't remember making that "promise," but it was great that he reiterated it so much that it became a promise. And I think that underlying sentiment certainly helped me persevere when I might have considered stopping.
For a while, especially just before my proposal, I turned on the afterburners, and I felt that I was moving much faster and didn't need the help of the group. I hate to say it, but that was refreshing. I don't know if they were happy about that, but at that point, I needed to move faster than normal.
I also think the idea of "emotional support" became far, far more real and tangible after the first residency. Andrew and I were already pretty close, but meeting him in person helped make that friendship more real. Then seeing him at conferences helped as well. I think those opportunities increased both the perceived and actual emotional support systems.
But that was also moderated by the fact that meeting everyone there helped create a support group. Meeting Les, William, Anne, Dawn, etc etc. That first residency acted as a huge boost for groups and cohorts in general, not just for our study group.
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