The Cohort Sistas Podcast
The Cohort Sistas Podcast is an empowering and enlightening podcast that holds space for Black women and nonbinary doctoral degree holders to share their stories, experiences, and expertise. Each episode features an engaging interview on a wide range of topics, including academic trajectory, application process, mentorship, funding, career development, mental health, and social issues. Hosted by Cohort Sistas Founder and Executive Director Dr. Ijeoma Kola, The Cohort Sistas Podcast is known for its authentic and relatable approach, providing listeners with valuable insights, practical advice, and a sense of community. Whether you're looking for inspiration, encouragement, or simply a thought-provoking conversation, this podcast is a must-listen for aspiring doctors seeking to connect, learn, and thrive.
Cohort Sistas provides digital resources, mentorship, and community to improve equity in doctoral education. While our programs and platform are open to all doctoral students, applicants, and degree holders, we prioritize and center the needs and perspectives of Black women and nonbinary scholars.
Be sure to follow us on social at https://www.twitter.com/cohortsistas and https://www.instagram.com/cohortsistas, and visit our website at https://www.cohortsistas.org.
The Cohort Sistas Podcast
Dr. Jen Fry on Being an Older Doctoral Student and Black Woman Athletes Competing Overseas
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Sports and geography are deeply interconnected, often more so than most of us realize. From the ways that location impacts your fanbase as a sports team to how your identity as a Black female athlete shapes your experiences when competing overseas, there are seemingly endless ways in which sport and geography intersect. Today’s guest, Dr. Jen Fry, has done hugely important work in the field of sports geography, and by all accounts could be considered to be the only Black female sports geographer in the world. Dr. Fry is a veteran volleyball coach and social justice educator, whose recent dissertation focused on the experiences of Black female volleyball players competing in Europe and was written to serve as a guide to players competing abroad. In our conversation, Dr. Fry describes her fascinating trajectory from coaching collegiate volleyball for over 15 years, to earning her second master's and pursuing public speaking, before deciding to pursue her Ph.D. in sports geography from Michigan State University. She describes the conditions that prompted her to leave coaching behind, how her love of travel helped her make a shift in her career, and why we should all try to be less afraid of being a beginner. Dr. Fry goes on to share her advice for older students, the benefits of gaining experience outside of higher education, and why you shouldn’t be intimidated by younger doctoral candidates. She also emphasizes the importance of finding supervisors and chairs who have the time to care about you and your work, and why it’s so much more valuable than choosing one based on status. Be sure to tune in to learn all about Dr. Fry’s fascinating journey, along with key insights on how to make decisions when pursuing your Ph.D.!
If you are a Black woman interested in joining the Cohort Sistas community or you’re looking for more information on how to support or partner with Cohort Sistas, please visit our site at www.cohortsistas.com.
Find us on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t forget to follow the Cohort Sistas podcast, rate, and leave us a quick review wherever you’re listening.
Thank you for listening!
Leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts!
Join the Cohort Sistas community at community.cohortsistas.org
Visit our website to learn more about our programs and how you can support at cohortsistas.org
Email us at info@cohortsistas.org to connect, ask questions, or suggest guests
Follow Us on our social media platforms: