Chapter 4: PhD Pursuit: A Doctoral Mother’s Journey to Graduation

This is a personal narrative written to share my experiences as a mother, wife, doctoral student, and academic working in Texas, United States. While earning a PhD degree is arduous for all students, mother scholars face significant additional barriers to graduation. They often juggle work, family, and school duties while trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life (Castelló et al., 2017). For me, it was challenging to balance all of my responsibilities while also working on my dissertation. In this chapter, I reflect on the help and support I received from my husband, daughter, and academic peers, which enabled my success. I faced many challenges along the way, including time management, lack of faculty support, and familywork-education conflicts. However, with the help and support I received from family and unwavering doctoral persistence, I overcame these challenges and successfully graduated with a PhD in bilingual education.