Roland Nuñez
Doctoral Candidate
Oklahoma State University
Shares His Inspirations, Challenges, Support, and Advice
Roland Nuñez is a doctoral candidate at Oklahoma State University. He is the Director of Student Development, Assistant to the Dean, Sparks Hall Resident Life & Housing Coordinator. He was recently named the Kamm Distinguished Graduate Fellows for 2017.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What are a few of your motivating factors driving you to complete your PhD program?
Roland Nuñez: I started my PhD with an idea. I want to create an educational media company to help students better prepare for college through fun and engaging ways. That has been my main motivation to get through my program.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What were/are major challenges you have and how did you overcome them?
Roland Nuñez: Major challenges involved the commute. I live 2 hours away from the college and work a full-time job, so I had to take a lot of time off to drive to classes and do all the assignments. Getting support from my employer and giving up vacations to save my leave days helped tremendously.
Dr. Mike Robinson: How supportive has your family been during the journey?
Roland Nuñez: My wife and my brother have been very supportive in helping me out throughout my journey, both through words of encouragement and taking up more of my responsibilities so I can focus on my studies. The rest of my family, who lives far away, offered prayer and support daily.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Have or did you seek out professional support such as a coach or consultant during this process?
Roland Nuñez: I did not. All I had was family support
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you think the research aspect of your journey has in store for you as you begin the dissertation process?
Roland Nuñez: As I mentioned before, I want to work on educational media for preparing high school students for college, through the use of books, TV shows, web shows, blogs, and video games. The research involves the use of these tools to see their educational value. I hope this is the first step of many more research studies designed around my area of interest and I am very excited to get to work.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What advice would you give those about to start their doctoral journey?
Roland Nuñez: Be passionate about something. It makes the experience so much easier if you are working towards something that brings you joy and that you will work on even if it's not for credit. This gets you through those tough moments of self-doubt and stress. It gives you a light at the end of the tunnel that it will all be worth it.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What are a few of your motivating factors driving you to complete your PhD program?
Roland Nuñez: I started my PhD with an idea. I want to create an educational media company to help students better prepare for college through fun and engaging ways. That has been my main motivation to get through my program.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What were/are major challenges you have and how did you overcome them?
Roland Nuñez: Major challenges involved the commute. I live 2 hours away from the college and work a full-time job, so I had to take a lot of time off to drive to classes and do all the assignments. Getting support from my employer and giving up vacations to save my leave days helped tremendously.
Dr. Mike Robinson: How supportive has your family been during the journey?
Roland Nuñez: My wife and my brother have been very supportive in helping me out throughout my journey, both through words of encouragement and taking up more of my responsibilities so I can focus on my studies. The rest of my family, who lives far away, offered prayer and support daily.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Have or did you seek out professional support such as a coach or consultant during this process?
Roland Nuñez: I did not. All I had was family support
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you think the research aspect of your journey has in store for you as you begin the dissertation process?
Roland Nuñez: As I mentioned before, I want to work on educational media for preparing high school students for college, through the use of books, TV shows, web shows, blogs, and video games. The research involves the use of these tools to see their educational value. I hope this is the first step of many more research studies designed around my area of interest and I am very excited to get to work.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What advice would you give those about to start their doctoral journey?
Roland Nuñez: Be passionate about something. It makes the experience so much easier if you are working towards something that brings you joy and that you will work on even if it's not for credit. This gets you through those tough moments of self-doubt and stress. It gives you a light at the end of the tunnel that it will all be worth it.