“If it mattered to them, it mattered to me”

This chapter demonstrates how three Black women doctoral candidates at an HWI cultivated a friendship to retain one another. Throughout our doctoral journey, we relied on each other, creating space for us to be transparent, thrive, and resist our marginalized status in the academy. Using collaborative autoethnography (CAE), we interrogate how our friendship mattered during the dissertation process in a specific, socio-cultural context. Through CAE and analyzing our narratives, the authors provide recommendations for higher education professionals to create spaces for Black women doctoral students to not just survive but thrive.