ABSTRACT
Graduate school is hard work. Add to it the dynamics of class amid those from poor or working-class backgrounds, and navigating the academy becomes even harder. Managing coursework, work, life, and a more elusive, elitist class culture than the undergraduate experience is all part of the package with, again, little direction or conversation in the process. Figuring out where each piece of life fits to complete the degree is like an academic puzzle. Constanza (Connie) A. Cabello, a doctoral student at Northeastern University, Dylan R. Dunn, a master’s student at Colorado State University, and Carmen Rivera, a doctoral student at Colorado State University, share with us the complexity of existing as students in the academy while being part of its administration. Their shared call to engage social class in higher education in hopes of better supporting the next generation of educators is a lesson for all of us.
