What Success Really Looks Like Pre-Tenure: An Interview with Two Amplify Grads

Key points discussed:

• How they each found the Amplify program and why they joined
• What’s changed for them in the past year as a result of the program
• Mentality shifts and how they have developed intentionality and clarity 
• Developing a writing system for the long term
• Experiencing burnout and learning to develop healthy decision-making practices
• Tools they continue to go back to
• Learning to reflect and re-center when things get hectic
• Writing, publishing and project successes, and a more streamlined timeline to achieve them
• Gaining self-awareness and spotting problems as they arise
• Planning for the future with intention
• Their favorite parts of the Amplify program
• Who they believe can benefit from being a part of Amplify

Key Quotes:

• “What comes first is feeling comfortable, less stressed, understanding who you are as an academic and who you want to be.” -Melva Treviño Peña
• “I thought I was the only person that had graduated without the publication skills and I started to learn that that is not true.” -Melva Treviño Peña
• “It helped me transform how I see myself and how I see the writing system.” -Melva Treviño Peña
• “I was worried that after the program is done..the benefit is done; but that’s not the case at all…I changed the way that I work and I’m definitely not going back to the way I was.” -Silvie Huijben
• “It’s a continuous work in progress, all the time.” -Silvie Huijben
• “In this program, I have the tools that, if I start to feel more frazzled, now I know what to do.” -Silvie Huijben
• “Not all hours are created equal.” -Silvie Huijben
• “With coaching and with programs, what you get is…facilitated speed.” -Cathy Mazak
• “Getting a guilt project out of the way was such a sense of relief.” -Silvie Huijben
• “It’s such a beautiful part of the program: to find out that you’re not alone.” -Melva Treviño Peña
• “I learned a lot from Cathy and the coaches, but I learned a lot from the other people in the program.” -Melva Treviño Peña

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