Maxine Britto
BIO
2nd year doctoral candidate in Education, a Higher Ed Administrator and Teacher. Mom of 2.
Instagram: @theeducationportfolio
Maxine Britto
“Seeing my mentors walk through challenges in order to reach their goals has encouraged me to stay positive and to keep putting one foot in front of another.”
It's stunning how life can sometimes bring you what you need, almost by accident. As a Master's student almost 17 years ago, I developed a friendship with the most incredible colleague who was pursuing her doctorate while raising two small children and running her own business. I never realized how much my observations of her life would become imprinted on me over the years, inspiring me to believe that a doctorate might be the path I wanted in order to reach my goals.
In fact, mentorship from three incredible women is what encouraged me to pursue my doctorate and help me visualize how it would benefit not only my career, but the life I was aspiring towards. Mentorship has also helped to lift the weight of raising little ones. I began my studies last summer, 7 months pregnant with our second child. Everyone thought I was crazy. "How do you do it, Maxine?!" is what what I kept on hearing.
Seeing my mentors walk through challenges in order to reach their goals has encouraged me to stay positive and to keep putting one foot in front of another. I am incredibly grateful to live in a country with extensive parental leave, which has helped so much as well. Have I read journal articles while bouncing a crying baby in a sling? Yes. Have I used nap time as writing time? Yes. Do I regret it? No. Is that my norm? No.
Since starting, I have found better limits and boundaries to help avoid and cope with burn out. Through my own personal experience I have noticed that, as a woman with children, being strategic about career development during childbearing years has been necessary to avoid career stagnation.
However, I also truly believe that through this necessity, I have been able to point myself in a direction that I truly desire. Claire, Tiffany and Diane, thank you for giving me the true inner-confidence to believe I can do this. I'm so appreciative of my cheer squad.