It’s no secret that 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation being signed into law — especially if you work in athletics or higher education. The legislation has meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people, generations, genders, etc. It has afforded many people, women in particular, with opportunities that otherwise would not have been available to them. But it hasn’t all been sunshine and daisies.

I get this question all the time: “How is your PhD going?” And truthfully, I’ve had no idea how it’s really been going until I began the dissertation phase of it in August 2021. Sure, there’s been coursework with letter grades along the way, but all of that has felt surreal.