Shaniya Auxier (she/her) graduated from UW-Madison in the spring of 2022, with a major in Psychology and a certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. Since graduation, Shaniya has been a teaching assistant in the UW-Madison Psychology department, a research assistant in a UMass-Amherst Psychology lab, and (successfully!) applied to Psych PhD programs. She will be a first-year PhD student in the UW Counseling Psychology department starting fall 2024, with particular interests in low-income and youth’s experiences in the clinical setting!
How does GWS matter in the day-to-day of your professional life?
Gender and Women’s Studies introduced me to feminist theory and the feminist research framework. Through these courses, not only was I exposed to how to conduct research in an equitable, honoring way, I was also constantly involved in discussions critically analyzing text.
Most of my professional life right now revolves around using my GWS education to hone research skills and build a research identity. That often means keeping pertinent questions about intersectional identity and power at the forefront of exploration, being intentional with the words I use to talk to and about different communities, and picking apart sources and participant demographics to better situate study conclusions. GWS gave me the skills to critically engage with readings and recognize the interconnectedness of our world; now I use those principles to guide my own research.
Do you have advice for students who share their interests and may want to pursue a similar graduate degree and/or career?
Go for it, and be bold while you do. In undergrad, one of my biggest challenges was the resistance some of my psych classes had to discussions of power and identity. In GWS, these candid ecological and introspective conversations are just another Tuesday (and Thursday)! It took time to realize that openly raising attention to and asking for deeper conversation is not a plague on the room; it is a strength. A GWS education builds you powerfully, and the professionals you actually want to impress will be the people who recognize that.
During the PhD application process, most of the ways you can set yourself apart from other applicants will be seen as a strength. Your GWS background has likely given you experience in different theoretical orientations and skill sets that enable you to bring fresh ideas to a prospective program/lab. Be true to yourself and really utilize those GWS experiences to demonstrate your passion and ability; it could be the strength that makes you stand out.
What do you remember fondly from the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies? Favorite class? Instructor?
One of the things I loved most about the GWS department is how faculty genuinely care about the topics they teach. I’ve been fortunate to witness so many of my instructors carrying on their passion outside of the classroom, embodying how their topics translate to life beyond our lecture rooms. There is something indescribable about the candid humanity shared between students and faculty in GWS that really sets the Department apart and propels learning forward.
As for a favorite course…the department is too stellar to choose just one! Highlights from my own undergraduate career would say any opportunity to take a course with Dr. Kate Phelps, Dr. Sami Schalk, or Dr. Annie Menzel will leave a student golden. If a student has any kind of STEM background/interest (or would like to engage with STEM through a feminist lens), I cannot recommend Dr. Kate Walsh’s Psychology of Women and Gender enough–it’s a game changer!
More than anything, I will always remember the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies as more than worth its weight in gold; GWS faculty are just that good!
What, if anything, do you wish you could tell your undergraduate self?
Take more GWS classes! There are so many great topics offered in the Department and I often wish I had had more time and less schedule conflicts to take them. I didn’t know students could audit classes until my senior year of college, and, once I found that out, I immediately signed up to audit a GWS course my last semester. This enabled me to engage with content and a professor that I really wanted to learn from without adding onto an already heavy workload. I wish I would’ve asked about different ways to squeeze more GWS into my schedule earlier on!