“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
A little about me
Hi, I’m Chrystelle (Chrys for short). My pronouns are she/her. I am a Brooklyn native. I am a Cancer and Cell Biology PhD turned public health researcher studying Cancer-related Population Sciences. My hope is that you will learn a bit more about me and my experiences with graduate school, academia, social and scientific research, chronic illness, mental health, and my overall adulting journey.
Read more.
The real tea on grad school and academia.
Graduate school was a long, exhausting, and often isolating experience. I plan to be as frank as I can be about the highs and very many lows that I have had in graduate school and currently experience in academia.
This is what a cancer biologist looks like. This is what a cancer epidemiologist looks like.
#DiversifySTEM #WOCinSTEM #BlackInCancer
Blog
GiveHerThePhD sans Endo
When I was first diagnosed with endometriosis in 2018, I followed a ton of endo blogs on Instagram, but I did not find very many blogs with folks that looked like me (black), let alone graduate students. I began this blog to share my story as a black STEM PhD candidate who was tired and ready to part ways with graduate school. I am continuing this blog as a way to document my journey post-grad school, as I continue to navigate my professional life while working to maintain my physical and mental health.
Dying to have my period, literally
Although I did not have my period and did not qualify to share period stories with the other girls, I still managed to relate to the stories about painful cramps that I overheard.
For at least a year before starting my period, I remember having monthly and extreme pelvic pain.
GiveHerThePhD sans endo
My grad school experience has completely changed my life. From the very beginning, it has been a journey full of trials and loops of fire. Dramatic? Yes, but these are definitely the facts. While I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue this degree and potentially uncover novel concepts in my field, I wonder if this journey was worth it. Immediately I would say no, it is definitely not worth it. However, not having completed the entire journey, the 10% optimistic in me says, maybe time will make it all worthwhile.
About me and my blog mission
First things first, I am a Brooklyn native. Now that I’ve got the obligatory “I’m from Brooklyn” statement out of the way, the following are a few more things about me:
I am a first-generation American, born to Caribbean immigrants.
“You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can’t, but also knowing that [writings are] indispensable to the world... The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even but a millimeter the way people look at reality, then you can change it.”
