Ep. 123: Dr. Latoya Watson
Dr. Latoya Roberts png.jpg
Dr. Latoya Roberts png.jpg
Dr. Latoya Watson
Doctorate of Educational Leadership, University of Delaware
With the words “You can have it all, but not at the same time”, Shonda Rhimes gave thousands of women permission to reevaluate the unrealistic expectations they had been imposing on themselves. Our guest today is all too familiar with the consequences of this dilemma. In today’s episode of the Cohort Sistas podcast, we meet up with Dr. Latoya Watson. She is the mother of two young girls and currently works as the Assistant Dean of the Associate in Arts Program at the University of Delaware. Dr. Watson worked in higher education administration after finishing college at the University of Delaware and completed her EDD in Educational Leadership at the University of Delaware while working full-time at the same institution. Dr. Watson discusses the benefits of remaining at one institution for all three of her degrees, and how she was able to leverage her work in a university setting to apply to her master's and doctoral programs. We hear from Dr. Watson about the difficulty that comes with caring for a sick child while studying and how she managed to navigate motherhood, marriage, and her family’s health struggles while pursuing her doctoral degree. Later Dr. Watson unpacks her dissertation topic entitled Equity Mindedness and Equity Advising and how it forms the core of who she is. We loved having Dr. Watson on the show and we’re sure you will find the conversation every bit as stimulating as we did. Join us today as we discuss the challenges that come with ‘having it all’ and why there is no shame in taking longer than expected to complete your degree!
Connect with Dr. Latoya Watson on Dr. Latoya Watson, LinkedIn,Instagram, and Twitter.
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing today’s guest Dr. Latoya Watson.
How Dr. Watson leveraged working at university to attain funding for her degrees.
The hidden benefits of going to a school in a quieter area.
How a more close-knit community can provide you with the opportunity to accelerate faster.
Dr. Watson shares how the birth of her children affected her studies.
Why getting a tuition remission can be very useful.
Dr. Watson shares the immense challenge of caring for a sick child while pursuing your doctoral degree.
What Dr. Watson learned from Shonda Rhimes’ book Year of Yes.
Why Dr. Watson found the deep work of writing a thesis far more challenging than coursework.
How to strategically approach your work and research so that they complement one another.
How Dr. Watson pivoted to higher education in her career.
How working in multicultural recruitment spurred Dr. Watson to pursue her doctoral degree.
Dr. Watson shares her dissertation topic and how she chose it.
Understanding the difference between equity and equality when analyzing institutional data.
How Dr. Watson struggled to find a balance between work, life, motherhood and studying.
Dr. Watson discusses what she loved about her doctoral program, including her positive experience with her advisor and committee.
Dr. Watson discusses what it’s been like working at the same institution for a long time.
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The Cohort Sistas Podcast brings to life the stories, struggles, and successes of Black women with doctoral degrees and their lives beyond the degree. If you are a Black woman interested in joining the Cohort Sistas community, sign up to do so here, and if you are looking for more information on how to support or partner with Cohort Sistas, please visit our partnerships page. Find us on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t forget to follow The Cohort Sistas Podcast, rate the show, and leave us a quick review.
