I say to you graduates, congratulations. This is the time where you have just contributed new knowledge to your filed. Do not be afraid to keep spreading the word of your work. Final defenses are only just the beginning of you using your voice and speaking truth to power. You owe it to your participants and everyone who made your research possible to DO something with it. To create real, sustainable change. To examine that change with a critical eye and to refine it relentlessly. You have been given the tools to create the new and innovated and to have it substantiated by a group of your wisest peers. It's not the time to shrink into the shadows. This is your time to shine.
Read MoreNo one prepares you for the post-PhD PTSD. I'd said it with a hint of laughter behind my voice, but remembering the months of pervasive and palpable sadness that followed the completion of my doctoral degree, it really wasn't funny at all.
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