ABSTRACT
This chapter unpacks the lived experiences of a gifted Black woman navigating the doctoral program as a first-generation American. The author explores her academic journey through a nuanced lens, situating educational opportunities, familial socialization, and community through a first-generation American perspective. In these renderings, she positions disruption as an active modality of her gifted journey: disruption of immigrant narratives, perceived expectations, and academic trajectory. The author shares the importance of having a collective, and ways to lean into support while navigating the doctoral journey.
