I think that I took advantage of as many resources and people as I could. I think a lot of people are afraid to ask for help. And that has been something I’m very proud of, is that I am not afraid to ask for help.
And I’m not afraid to get help in a lot of different ways. And that is something that I really hold close to myself, as, well, other people are going to face these challenges, and they might have an easier starting point. But you aren’t afraid to say, yeah, this is tough and I need some help. And what can I get?
So I got study groups. I had a planner. I had friends who kept me on track and went to different locations with me. I had an accommodation from Student Disability Services because I have a chronic injury in my arm and writing on a chalkboard aggravates that. So they gave me a whiteboard in my qualifying exam so that I didn’t have to have that extra stress. And building that structure of people on my side, on my team, is definitely a part of my success.
I feel like that is something that I often have to remind people, that asking for help is a part of winning. Like you don’t have to win with no help. People are there and going to give you the help that you merit and not necessarily just help you don’t deserve. So that’s one thing I would like to point out.