Originally posted on PhD Balance social media platforms on 12/29/2020.
Many of you have been with us here at PhD Balance since it was started as a simple Instagram page called Ph_D_epression back in late 2017. It grew faster than our founder, Susanna Harris, could have possibly imagined. We have since grown as an organization, with a team of international volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, disciplines, cultures, and experiences. At our core, PhD Balance has always been about supporting graduate students and creating a community to help students feel less alone. It is with the goal of keeping graduate students first that we, as a team, have decided to prioritize keeping our leadership graduate students themselves.
Meet Liesl!
I started working with the team in 2019 as a way to better connect myself to mental health research in academia. I had started my PhD in STEM education and was starting to put together a research plan that would allow me to study the importance of advisor support in grad student mental health and performance outcomes. Susanna seemed like the perfect person to partner with to help me get real, hands-on training in this field of study. She has always been a huge supporter of my research and has guided me towards opportunities I would have not been able to have without her.
It is with her support, recommendation, & blessing that I
am excited to become the new President of PhD Balance. With the help of our amazing team, I hope to bring you more quality content and support. We will continue to support conversations on Discord, sharing stories on social media, monthly community Stronger Together modules, monthly Q&As, weekly Grad Chats, and so much more! Be sure to continue following us for future announcements about exciting new projects we have up our sleeves. I’ll be chatting with Fay Lin on January 9th for Grad Chat, so you all can get to know me better, learn about my research, and ask me any questions you may have about the future of PhD Balance. In the meantime, I’m an open book over on my personal accounts, working under the name @SourKrause94. Thank you all for your continued support, your ongoing contributions to our community, and your kindness. We’re excited for this next journey together. ~ Liesl