In the latest episode of the Victors in Grad School podcast, Dr. Christopher Lewis sits down with Roy Shavers, an Academic Success Specialist at the University of Michigan-Flint, for an inspiring conversation about the transformational journey of graduate education. This episode is packed with relatable advice, honest reflections, and the kind of encouragement every current and prospective grad student needs to hear. The Power of Mindset and Determination A core theme throughout the episode is the importance of mindset. Roy Shavers speaks candidly about being a first-generation college student and not growing up seeing college degrees on the wall. Despite academic challenges in his early years and a less-than-stellar ACT score, he was determined not to give up. His athletic background taught him to view every obstacle as something to overcome, treating academics like a competition he was determined to win. This athlete mentality—balancing, persevering, and pushing through adversity—became his blueprint for success in and out of the classroom. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Imposter syndrome is real, as discussed by Dr. Christopher Lewis at 07:10. Roy Shavers admits to feeling intimidated, especially when surrounded by master's and doctoral students early in his grad school journey. His way of overcoming these feelings? Embracing the challenge, believing in himself, and leaning into the skills that made him successful as a student athlete—perseverance, focus, and the relentless pursuit of personal growth. His story is a valuable reminder that self-doubt is natural, but it can be beaten with the right mindset and support. Mentorship, Balance, and Lifelong Learning Another theme from Roy Shavers's journey is the value of mentorship and networking. He credits supportive professors and mentors who pushed him to believe in himself and helped him navigate graduate school transitions. He also encourages listeners to reach out, ask questions, and not hesitate to contact the authors of interesting articles for real-world insights and career networking (19:55). Balancing school, work, and life responsibilities is tough, but, as Roy Shavers shares (20:36), drawing from past experiences and making time for self-organization can make the impossible possible. Advice for Future Victors If you're thinking about graduate school, Roy Shavers suggests finding a mentor, having patience, setting a plan, and staying resilient. Remember, everyone's path is different, and sometimes the best advice comes from those who've overcome the challenges themselves. Tune in to this episode to hear Roy Shavers's full journey—including how persistence, the right support system, and a lifelong love of learning can make you a victor in grad school. Listen now and take your first step towards becoming the person you want to be! TRANSCRIPT Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]: Welcome to Victors in Grad School, where we have conversations with students, alumni, and experts about what it takes to find success in graduate school. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:11]: Welcome back to Victors in Grad School. I'm your host, Dr. Christopher Lewis, Director of Graduate programs at the University of Michigan, Flint. Really excited to have you back again this week. You know, as always, I love that you show up every week to be able to learn just a little bit more and to be able to push yourself and help yourself, to be able to work toward those goals that you've set for yourself that are helping you to be able to be the person you want to become. And that's all about you going to graduate school. This podcast is here to help you along this journey. I call it a journey because it is a journey. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:47]: Every individual that goes on to graduate school goes on a personal journey themselves that are helping them to. To be able to attain the goals that they've set and are pushing themselves forward. So every week, I love that you show up to be able to learn something just a little bit more, that are going to put some tools in your toolbox and help you to be able to do just that. Every week, I bring you different guests with different experiences, people that have gone to graduate school before you that can give you some hints, some tips, some things that they've learned along the way, whether good or maybe not so good, that they can help you to be able to maneuver through that journey just a little bit better. And today we got another great guest. Roy Shavers is with us, and Roy is an academic success specialist at the University of Michigan, Flint. I work with him closely in a number of different ways at the university, and he's had his own graduate school journey, and he's actually still working in a graduate school journey. We're going to be talking about that journey that he's been on and some of the things that he's learned along the way. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:53]: And I'm really excited to have him here. Roy, thanks so much for being here today. Roy Shavers [00:01:56]: Appreciate it. Glad to be here. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:59]: Well, I'm really excited to have you here. And, you know, I always start these conversations with an opportunity to kind of turn the clock back in time. And I want to go back because I know you did your undergraduate work at Eastern Michigan University, and as you were going through that experience for yourself, there was a point in time, there was an instance that made you say to yourself, I'm not done. I want to continue and I want to get a graduate degree. Bring me back to that point. And what was Going through your head. Roy Shavers [00:02:28]: Well, I knew I was going to college, but I didn't grow up seeing degrees on the wall. I talk about this all the time to a lot of the people that I come close to. But my parents, I'm a first gen college student. My parents didn't graduate from a college. My mom went to cosmetology school. My dad was drove public transportation. So my big thing was I wanted to compete on the Division 1 level. Back then I thought I was a basketball player, but my calling was track and field. Roy Shavers [00:03:01]: That's how I got to Eastern Michigan, was through track and field. I reassured it my first year because of grades. Grades and ACT score. My ACT score wasn't that strong. It was, it was pretty bad. But I didn't give up. I had this mentality that I knew that I was going to college. But like I said, I reassured my first year. Roy Shavers [00:03:21]: That put me in a place where I gained a year back. So I graduated within the four years. And my academic advisor at the time was like, what are you going to do? Are you going to go get a second bachelor's or you going to go to grad school? And the young lady that I was dating at the time, I was telling her, I'm going to go get a second bachelor's. You know, like, I, I don't want no graduate degree. And she was telling me like, Roy, that wouldn't make sense. Challenge yourself, put something in front of you that you can, you know, look forward to. So I don't know, I sat back and I thought about it and I said, what's the coolest job that I didn't see somebody doing on a college campus? And they, I thought an academic advisor. I'm like, they talk to students not just about classes, but just about life. Roy Shavers [00:04:06]: I can think back to the guy that was my advisor at the time. And I just talked recently talked to him about a couple of months ago. We talked about everything, current events and all of that stuff. And when she asked me what I wanted to do, my other advisor, I said, I'm going for student affairs, you know, higher education. So I pursued a degree in educational leadership with a student affairs focus. And originally my goal was to work with student athletes. I wanted to work with student athletes. But it started off good. Roy Shavers [00:04:37]: But I got pulled into the student affairs, the higher education enrollment management part of higher education. So this is where I'm at. You know, I've been doing this for the last 10 years working on a college campus. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:04:53]: And you decided to go to Eastern Michigan University for your master's degree. And you. There are a number of different higher education programs that are out there. Bring me into your mindset of choosing a graduate program for yourself, especially for that first one. I know you've gone beyond that, and we'll talk about that. That too. But for the master's degree that you got, what made you decide that Eastern Michigan University was the right fit for you? Roy Shavers [00:05:16]: Well, I was a student athlete. I went there for my undergrad, and I had to pick whether it's a second bachelor's because I graduated, or I had to pick a graduate degree program. And the advisors there at the time, they made their job seem so cool. So that's why I picked student affairs. Higher education, Educational leadership. Student affairs. That was my focus because I, you know, I wanted to do something that fun on the college campus. I thought being an advisor was fun or running some type of program would. Roy Shavers [00:05:47]: Would, you know, I could see myself doing. So that's when I picked that program. Now, when I got into the program, I don't know if I'm going a little bit deep, but when I got actually into the program, I was, like, scared, because it wasn't just students that was working on a master's. It was students that was working on PhDs that I was. That I was in, you know, classes with. They had to take the same classes that I had to get to get to their goal, you know, which is earning a doctoral degree. So I don't know, being in all some of those classes, I was intimidated because it was like, can't write on this level. I can't. Roy Shavers [00:06:24]: I never even saw myself even being in that space. But I knew, like I said, the mindset that I had once I got to college, oh,
