It’s 2022 and the Great Resignation has been a big topic of discussion this year. Starting in 2021, millions of Americans at elevated rates decided to leave their jobs, buoyed by the pandemic and subsequent labor shortage. The personal and professional reasons made by many definitely vary, but there’s no doubt that at least some were motivated by a better quality of life – both mentally and physically. 

And that was a big factor in the choice Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu and her husband made to leave their home state of California and relocate to Portugal with their two children.

Yvette is a Chicana mother-scholar who works as an academic coach and consultant. She received her Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies from UCLA and  founder of Grad School Femtoring, LLC where she empowers first-generation students of color as they navigate higher education. She’s also the host of the Grad School Femtoring podcast.

She co-authored  The Grad School Femtoring Guide: Successfully Navigating Graduate School Applications and editor of the best-selling Chicana M(other)work Anthology with the University of Arizona Press. 

After working in higher ed for over 10 years, Yvette recently transitioned out of academia and that is a big focus of this week’s episode.

But before we get to the reasons for that transition, we have to connect the different threads of her journey. We discuss her upbringing as a first-generation, Mexican-American  and how it impacted the lens she navigated the world. We dive into the hurdles that many immigrant families face as they chase their part of the American Dream.  And we discuss what is driving much of the exodus from higher education for those in academia.

It can be difficult to leave something after you’ve worked so hard to achieve it, but as Yvette shares her story, you’ll understand why sometimes putting your needs first can be an absolute necessity.