Empowering the future in an interesting and memorable way, all while still doing the thing you love can all be written as one word: teaching. This is exactly why Dr. Danielle Beck decided to go into the education field, and is currently a professor and part-time researcher at Folsom Lake College.
Our journey to discovering what we want to do is not always smooth sailing, even if we think we have an idea of where we see ourselves in the future. It’s a never ending journey, even when we think we have it all set. The same applies to Dr. Beck, who never thought she would go into psychology, as she always thought that she would either play a sport or go into ultrasound technology. While those were always what were in her mind, she knew they were never the ultimate goal she wanted to pursue. She continued to volunteer in different fields to broaden her horizon and came across psychology. She had never felt such an interest for anything else, and realized that psychology was the thing for her...but that’s not the end of the story.
Dr. Beck still had many battles and hurdles to fight and overcome before she was truly comfortable in her career. Going in, she didn't see herself as a teacher, especially with her background, since she had a lot of insecurities as a first generation college student. Despite this looking back as an undergrad, she had the most fun because life and school were the same and she pursued it together.
Graduate school was where it was a slight uphill path, of course with its positives as well. She originally got into her phD program in an unconventional way, as she originally did not get accepted to the grad schools she applied to. Through networking and putting herself out there to professors and staff at different schools she was able to get an interview! Because of that, she discovered that finding your own place in a new environment, in this case school, can be both challenging and exciting—sometimes, you have to create your own space as well. In grad school, it's essentially everybody for themselves, and you are in charge of you. Dr. Beck realized that tapping into your independence is a big thing when pursuing education, and allowing yourself to be able to hone in on your specific interests over the course of the graduate program. Our education and the challenges we face go hand in hand, but it is up to us, as Dr. Beck did, to take the best out of each situation and shine through.
Dr. Beck tells us that the whole process of graduate school could be summed up in one word: grueling. Besides the obvious academic challenges that come with such a high level of education, Dr. Beck had to work to build up the confidence required to flourish in graduate school. As a first generation college student coming straight out of undergrad, she was plagued with insecurities and self doubt. However, as she found, discovering your own story and your own interest is equally as rewarding as it is challenging. A particular challenge arose during the time she was writing her dissertation: an integral part of a PhD program. At the time, she had already taken up her first teaching job, and had a mentor that often stifled her thoughts, so coming up with the perfect dissertation was especially hard. As such, orally presenting her dissertation to the committee was anxiety inducing. Still, afterwards, she was called back and commended on her presentation. It was at this moment that Dr. Beck recalls feeling a sense of accomplishment and relief like no other, and that event shows that sticking with what you’re doing in tough times is ultimately rewarding.
To other first generation college students, Dr. Beck passionately advises, “You belong. You are more than enough, and you have a right to be there.” Dr. Beck was able to persist, amidst all the struggles and worries. Her determination earned her a PhD, and multitudes of knowledge and wisdom to share with her students. Just like the atypical path she followed throughout her own education, Dr. Beck wants students to know that they may also take unorthodox ways in life, and that is entirely okay, especially in the STEM field. There are so many pathways to get to a single destination in life, and it is important to embrace the unfamiliar.