The PhD-to-Be Podcast
Episodes
Episode 83: How to Design a Course
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 83 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly talks all about how to design a college-level course. From knowing what your objectives are to what you...
Episode 82: Navigating Pregnancy as a Graduate Student (Part Two)
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 82 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly reflects on what her second trimester of pregnancy was like all while being a graduate student. Hope yo...
Episode 81: I Was Rejected By All 7 Jobs I Applied To-Now What?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 81 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly talks about the jobs she applied for and what her future plans are now that she was rejected from all o...
Episode 80: A Midsemester Reflection (Spring 2025 Edition)
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 80 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly reflects on how her spring 2025 semester is going so far! She talks about her diss progress, her role a...
Episode 79: Getting Rejected From Grad Programs
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 79 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly's guest talks all about their experiences with getting rejected from graduate programs. Her guest s...
Episode 78: Making Grad Work Matter
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 78 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly explores and breaks down the question of why the work that we do in grad school matter. She discuss the...
After School Snack #13: Nataly's Thrift Tips
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On After School Snack #13, Nataly shares tips she believes will make your thrifing experience fun! Hope you enjoy! Happy thrifting!
Episode 77: Is College Worth It?
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 77 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly dives deep into the question: is college worth it? Hope you enjoy!
Episode 76: Navigating Pregnancy as a Graduate Student (Part One)
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 76 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly talks all about what it has been like to be a pregnant graduate student! Listen as she reflects on her ...
Episode 75: End of Semester Reflection (Fall 2024 Edition)
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 75 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly reflects on her Fall 2024 semester. She talks all about her dissertation, her job as assistant director...
Episode 74: Parenting While PhD-ing (A First Semester PhD Student's Experience)
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 74 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly's guest Emily reflects on the unique challenges and triumphs of being a first-semester PhD student whil...
Episode 73: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 73 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly talks about her current job and her experience on the job market, specifically job applications. It's a...
Episode 72: Fast-Track PhD or Master's Route?
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 72 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and her guest talk about the pros and cons of a fast-track PhD versus going the master's route. They di...
After School Snack #12: The Video Games That Shaped My Childhood
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On After School Snack #12, Nataly and her guest reminisce on the video games and systems they played as children including the Nintendo GameCube all t...
Episode 71: The Importance of Cultural Representation in Grad School (An Interview with Andrea Wright)
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 71 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly interviews Andrea Wright, a fifth year PhD student in Urban Education. Andrea gives listerners insight ...
Episode 70: Religion, Faith, and Spirituality in Academia
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 70 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and her guest talk about what is like to be people of faith in an academic culture that tends to remain...
Episode 69: Our Midsemester Reflection (Fall 2024 Edition)
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 69 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas reflect on the first 7 weeks of the Fall 2024 semester. They delve into the progress of thei...
Episode 68: The Curriculum Vitae (or CV)
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 68 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss CVs. They talk through some of the basics of CVs and even share each of their CVs wi...
Episode 67: The Grad Student Comparison Trap
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 67, Nataly and Dallas discuss the pros and cons of grad students comparing themselves to their peers and what current grad students can do ...
Episode 66: Feeling Stuck While Working On Your Dissertation
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 66 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly discusses her experiences of feeling stuck while working on her dissertation. She outlines several stra...
After School Snack #11: Music We Love
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #11, Nataly and Dallas talk about the music they love including their favorite artists growing up to those they enjoy today. Hop...
Episode 65: Writing Abstracts (and Proposals)
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 65 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Dallas and Nataly talk about how to write abstracts and proposals for publication, conferences, and more. They...
Episode 64: Questions to Ask Current Grad Students, Prep Tips, and More (Q&A)
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 64 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas answer a series of questions on their first Q&A episode. They cover topics such as quest...
Episode 63: Summer Break Recap/Our Goals For The Fall 2024 Semester
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 63 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas give listeners a recap of their summer breaks. They also share their goals for the fall 2024...
Episode 62: Finding a Mentor For Your Grad Program
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 62 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss how grad students can find mentors to support them throughout their grad programs. H...
Episode 61: Rule of Thirds, Trusting Yourself, and The Impact of Showing Up
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 61, Nataly and Kaila discuss the progress they have made on their dissertations, and they reflect on the things they have learn up to this ...
Episode 60: Imposter Syndrome (Featuring Dr. Ruth Bomar)
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 60 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dr. Ruth Bomar joins Dallas and Nataly to talk all about imposter syndrome. Dr. Bomar defines imposter syndrom...
After School Snack #10: Our Favorite Movies
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On After School Snack #10, Dallas and Nataly talk about some of their favorite movies.
Episode 59: Finding The "Perfect" Grad Program For You
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 59 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly talk about what prospective grad students should consider when trying to find the "perf...
Episode 58: Writing and Defending Your Dissertation Prospectus
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 58 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas talk about what it is like to write and defend a dissertation prospectus. They talk about wh...
Episode 57: An Update on Nataly's Dissertation (Summer Break Edition)
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 57 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly gives an update on her dissertation. She talks about meeting her 20 hour a week goal, what she does whe...
Episode 56: Things Graduate Students Say
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 56 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas share the things they hear graduate students say around the graduate program. Hope you enjoy...
Episode 55: An Online PhD Student's Journey In Clinical Health Psychology (An Interview with Shelika Joshi)
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 55 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Dallas and Nataly interview Shelika Joshi, a PhD student from Walden University in a clinical health psycholog...
Episode 54: The Science Behind Mastering Biology (An Interview with Chrissy Baker)
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On episode 54 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly interviews Chrissy, a recent graduate of TCU's masters of science program. Chrissy talks all about ...
After School Snack #9: 10 Things We Can't Live Without
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On After School Snack #9 Nataly and Dallas shared the 10 things they each can't live without. Hope you enjoy! Shoutout to GQ for the inspiration!...
Episode 53: Our End of Semester Reflection (Spring 2024 Edition)
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 53 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Dallas and Nataly reflect on their spring 2024 semester. Hope you enjoy!
Episode 52: Recap of The 2024 Southern Plains Arts, Humanities, and Languages Conference
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 52 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly talks about her time at the Southern Plains Arts, Humanities in Languages conference hosted by Oklahoma...
Episode 51: Putting Together Your Comprehensive Exam Book Lists
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Episode 51 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss how to put together your comprehensive exam book lists. They share how they decided ...
Episode 50: Is Grad School A Grad Student's Number One Job?
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 50 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas explore whether grad school is a grad student's number one job. As they explore this que...
Episode 49: Our Midsemester Reflection (Spring 2024 Edition)
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 49 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas reflect on how their semesters are going. They share what projects they have been working on...
Episode 48: Defending Your Comprehensive Exams
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 48 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss comprehensive exam defenses. They each share their own experiences when they defende...
After School Snack #8: Cabrini Movie Review
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #8, Dallas and Nataly share their thoughts on the movie Cabrini, a movie about an italian nun who comes to America and fights fo...
Episode 47: From PhD to Academic/ADHD Coach (An Interview with Dr. Ruth Bomar)
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 47 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly interviews Dr. Ruth Bomar, a certified coach specializing in empowering graduate students and professio...
Episode 46: How Dead Animals and a Car Accident Disrupted Two Grad Lives
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 46 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and her guest talk about how their grad lives have been disrupted by a car accident and dead animals, r...
One Year Anniversary of The PhD-to-Be Podcast
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On today's episode, Nataly and Dallas celebrate the one year anniversary of The PhD-to-Be podcast. They look back on this first year of the podcast an...
Episode 45: Thesis, Comprehensive Exams, and Dissertation Committees
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 45 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas offer advice on how to put together thesis, comprehensive exams, and dissertation committees...
Episode 44: Organizing a Group With Your Grad Student Colleagues
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 44 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas offer advice on how to start a group or club with your graduate student colleagues. They use...
Episode 43: Dallas' Comprehensive Exam Experience
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 43 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas shares all about her comprehensive exam experience. Nataly asks her questions about her process, the le...
After School Snack #7: Saint Valentine's Day
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #7, Nataly talks all about Valentine's day. She reminisces on her earliest Valentine's day memories and shares how she e...
Episode 42: How Grad School Helped Us Grow Closer to Our Home Cultures
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 42 of The PhD-to-be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas share how graduate school has helped them grown closer to their own respective cultures. The...
Episode 41: Earning a PhD Before The Age of 30 (An Interview with Dr. Ashley Johnson)
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 41 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly interviews Dr. Ashley Johnson, a recently graduated PhD student from the University of Texas in Arlingt...
Episode 40: Writing Instructors Share Their Thoughts on Generative AI
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 40 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas share their thoughts and feelings towards the use of generative AI in writing classrooms. Ho...
Episode 39: New Graduate Instructors Reflect on Their First Semester of Teaching
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 39 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly invites two new graduate instructors to reflect on their first semester of teaching. Hope you enjoy!
Episode 38: Our End of Semester Reflection (Fall 2023 Edition)
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 38 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly and Dallas reflect on their fall 2023 semesters. From teaching to administrative work, they share the h...
Episode 37: Personal Discernment at TCU's Brite Divinity School (An Interview with Cat Forrester)
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 37 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, Nataly interviews Cat, a graduate student from the TCU Brite Divinity School. Cat gives listeners insight into...
After School Snack #6: Christmas
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #6, Nataly and Dallas reflect on their favorite things about the Christmas and the holiday season. Hope you enjoy today's ep...
Episode 36: What's In My Bag? (Grad School Edition)
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 36 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas share what it is they carry in their school bags. From athlete's foot cream to journals,...
Episode 35: Our Writing Processes
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 35 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly share what their writing processes look like. From brainstorming to the editing and proofrea...
Episode 34: Finding Balance Between Grad Life and The Holiday Season
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 34 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly discuss how to find balance between resting during your holiday breaks and working on any pr...
Episode 33: If We Knew What We Know Now About Grad School
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 33 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas question whether if what they know about graduate school now would change their decision to ...
Episode 32: Writing For Publication
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 32 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly talks about how to write for publication. She goes through the process step by step which begins with l...
Episode 31: Community College and Virtually Presenting at a Conference
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 31 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly shares her experiences of being a former community college student. In honor of National Transfer Stude...
After School Snack #5: Halloween
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #5, Nataly and Dallas think back on all their halloween memories. What is your favorite thing about Halloween? Hope you enjoy to...
Episode 30: Our Midsemester Reflection (Fall 2023 Edition)
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 30 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly reflect on the first half of the fall 2023 semester. They also set some goals they'd lik...
Episode 29: Shooting Your Shot While in Graduate School
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 29 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly discuss the concept of shooting your shot, or having the courage to apply for opportunities,...
Episode 28: The Impact of School Spirit on the Grad School Experience
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 28 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Kaila, her guest for today’s episode, talk about the impact that having school spirit can have on...
Episode 27: Questions You Should Ask Grad Programs Before Applying
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 27 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss questions you should consider asking grad programs before applying. What questions d...
Episode 26: Navigating Family, Work, and Graduate School (An Interview with Silvia Romo-Duarte)
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 26 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas interview Silvia, Nataly’s friend and alumna of the University of Houston. Silvia recalls ...
Episode 25: Finding Community Outside of Graduate School
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 25 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly invites her friend and fellow graduate student Tristan to talk about how to find community outside of g...
After School Snack #4: What We Wanted to Be Growing Up
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #4, Dallas and Nataly share what they wanted to be while growing up. From being a professional dancer to being famous, the two r...
Episode 24: Side Hustles in Graduate School
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 24 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly, Dallas, and their two guests talk about having side hustles in graduate school. They each share how th...
Episode 23: Graduate Student Stereotypes
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 23 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Dallas discuss stereotypes of graduate students. Their inspiration for this episode comes from seas...
Episode 22: Planning a Conference as a Graduate Student
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 22 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly invites her friend Sean to talk about his experiences of what it is like to plan a conference as a grad...
Episode 21: The Best Graduate Courses We've Ever Taken
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 21 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly share what their favorite graduate courses have been throughout their PhD program. What have...
Episode 20: Stressful Grad School Summers
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 20 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly talk about the reality of what summers can look like when you are a graduate student. They d...
Episode 19: A Young Professional Gets a Professional MBA (An Interview with Megan Klavitter)
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 19 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly interviews her friend and colleague, Megan Klavitter, a professional MBA student from the TCU Neely Sch...
After School Snack #3: Our Favorite Childhood Books
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #3 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly reminisce over their favorite childhood books. They talk about the role reading h...
Episode 18: Narrowing Down Your Areas of Research
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 18 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Kaila, her guest for today’s episode, share how they narrowed down their research interests. They...
Episode 17: The Emotional Toll of Comprehensive Exams
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 17 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly and Mark, her guest for today’s episode, talk about the emotional toll of comprehensive exams. They e...
Episode 16: Statements of Purpose
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 16 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Dallas and Nataly discuss the statement of purpose, also known as a personal statement, a crucial component of...
Episode 15: Burnout (A Nataly Solo Episode)
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 15 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, Nataly talks about her experiences with burnout in graduate school. She gives insight into how burnout has man...
Episode 14: Life After the Accelerated Master's Program (An Interview with Reese Brown)
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 14 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we interview Reese Brown, a graduate of the TCU English accelerated master's program and founder of The Co...
Episode 13: Our End of Semester Reflection (Spring 2023 Edition)
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 13 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reflect on the spring 2023 semester. We look back and reminsce on the highs and lows and rejoice that we ar...
After School Snack #2: High School Memories
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #2 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reminisce on what our lives were like in high school. We share a few stories and reflect on how ...
Episode 12: All About Academic Conferences
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 12 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we talk all about academic conferences. From finding a conference you might want to apply for to talking about...
Episode 11: Friendships in Academia (Oklahoma State Edition)
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's episode is dedicated to Nataly's friends Kaila and Mark. On this day, Kaila is celebrating her 30th birthday and Mark is graduating wi...
Episode 10: Teaching as a Graduate Student
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 10 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss what is it like being a graduate student and a teacher. We talk about the highs and lows, how we tr...
Episode 9: Being an Older Graduate Student (An Interview with Natalie Shellenberger)
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 9 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we interview our friend and fellow TCU PhD student Natalie Shellenberger and learn about her experiences as an ...
Episode 8: Taking a Gap Year
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 8 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss the pros and cons of taking a gap year between degrees. Dallas shares her experiences in taking a ga...
Episode 7: Reacting to "Why You Shouldn't Get a PhD" Videos
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 7 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we react to videos which argue why you shouldn't get a PhD. We reacted to "Why you shouldn't apply...
After School Snack #1: Growing Up in the 90s and Early 2000s
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In After School Snack #1 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast, we reminisce on life growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. From Britney Spears to Nintendo's &...
Episode 6: What We Love About Graduate School
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 6 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss what we love about graduate school. What do you love about graduate school? We'd love to hear yo...
Episode 5: Our Midsemester Reflection (Spring 2023 Edition)
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 5 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we reflect on the first half of the 2023 spring semester. We discuss how our teaching is going, how our project...
Episode 4: Mourning The Undergraduate Experience
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 4 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we discuss the things we miss about being undergraduates like being able to wear baggy t-shirts and running sho...
Episode 3: Keeping The Faith While in Graduate School
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 3 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we share our personal testimonies of faith and talk about how our faith sustains us through graduate school. We...
Episode 2: So, You Think You Want to Go to Graduate School?
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 2 of The PhD-to-Be podcast, we took the "Are You Ready for Grad School?" quiz from scribd.com to talk about the various factors y...
Episode 1: Why We Chose to Go to Grad School
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to episode 1 of The PhD-to-Be Podcast. In Episode 1 you will learn about Nataly and Dallas, your hosts for this podcast. They will discuss why...