Coming at you with another Graduate School Series Episode. However, we really believe this discussion could apply to anyone who is planning, wanting, and/or becoming a parent within the world of academia. This week, we speak with Kendra Clark about her experience becoming a mother at the end of her fourth-year as a doctoral student. We talk about her steps (and Jose’s) in planning to become a parent during graduate school, taking her comprehensive exams at EIGHT MONTHS pregnant, the first few months of being a parent and juggling obligations to the program and to co-authors, and what her life is like now (at time of recording) with a 16-month child and finishing up her dissertation. Kendra also drops some advise for those who are planning on becoming a parent (generally speaking for all of academia — graduate students, professors). Drop your questions, comments, or other pieces of advise below!
Kendra is a sixth-year doctoral candidate in the department of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her BS in Psychology and Sociology from Baker University and her MA in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her current work examines areas of incarceration, reentry, recidivism, and gangs. She recently defended her prospectus for her dissertation where she explores cultural adaptations within correctional institutions and post-release using a theoretical framework she developed as part of her master’s thesis. Kendra is published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Sociological Methods & Research, and the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Her research is supported by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Update (June 2021)! Kendra has accepted a position as a Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!) at George Mason University.
Click Play Below to Listen to Episode Thirteen!
Or listen on your favorite podcast player!
Episode Transcriptions Available Below for Download: Word (.docx) and PDF (.pdf)
Get in touch with Kendra:
George Mason University Website // kclark45 AT gmu.edu // Twitter