In honor of Mother's Day, Doctoral Mom would like to introduce you to the amazing women that make up the Doctoral Mom group. Join us as we listen to their advice and stories.
It’s day ten of Countdown to Mother’s Day here at Doctoral Mom and today we have Barbara Nwaehi mother of two. Barbara’s area of study is Strategic Leadership at the Regent University.
Motherhood
What advice would you give to new mothers?
"Don’t eat the burnt toast. Place the mask on you first always!"
What is your favorite part of being a mother? Can you give us a specific example?
"Watching my children use my examples and analogies to encourage each other. It shows me that they are listening and applying."
How did you manage juggling the various aspects of motherhood while working and pursuing your doctorate?
"I didn’t juggle motherhood. Motherhood is too great of a responsibility for me to risk it falling off. With juggling there are risk of one of other things being a priority and motherhood being the later. I made sure in that motherhood stayed at the forefront and juggled all other aspects of my life. Often throwing them all in the air at once and hoping the stayed afloat. But the most effective strategy in moving through my roles of being a mom, wife, doctoral candidate, and employee has been scheduling. I set monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly plans on how to tackle each item. I kept to the philosophy of life/work balance rather than the commonly used work/life."
Walk us through your daily schedule.
"6:30am wake up and get kids and I ready.
7:30am Breakfast.
Get lesson plans laid out (we homeschool).
8:30am Lessons begin.
9:00am Work (remote).
12pm Lunch.
1pm Everyone back to working.
3pm School is over.
3:30 snacks for kids and free time
5:00 Work ends.
5:30 Dinner prep.
6:30 Dinner (most nights there at extracurricular activities - 8pm).
7:30 Clean up.
8:30 Shower and bedtime stories and prayer.
9pm Bedtime.
9:30 Begin work for classes for my school.
11;30 End schoolwork.
11:30 Shower and prep for next day for kids.
12:30 Bed."
Doctoral Program
What was the most challenging part about starting your doctorate?
"Believing that I can do it."
How did you choose your advisor and/or committee?
"Based on connection, grace, and accountability. Those who believed in me and my mission."
What is/was your dissertation topic?
"Girls in leadership."
What is the most difficult part of the dissertation process?
Time management.
If you could do something over, what would it be?
"Self-care during the process."
How did the program impact your relationships (romantic, family, friendships, etc.)?
"There were many sacrifices."
What tips do you have that might make it easier for mothers who are thinking about pursuing their doctorate?
"You got this! If you can survive motherhood, getting a doctorate is a piece of cake."
Career
Where are you in your career journey?
"Living out my life missions one day at a time."
What is the most important lesson you learned from your journey?
"Living out my life missions one day at a time."
What were your biggest struggles and how was Doctoral Mom Incorporated helpful to you?
"Staying motivated. Doctoral Mom helped as I watched encouraging post from other moms making it through."