To Infinity and Beyond: Grad Student Advice from the Toys of Toy Story
With Toy Story 5 arriving in theaters later this week, it's hard not to feel a little nostalgic. Since 1995, many of us have grown up alongside Woody, Buzz, and the gang through sequels released in 1999, 2010, and 2019.
What has made Toy Story endure is the lesson at its core: friendship, purpose, and courage. As it turns out, we think those themes have something in common with grad school.
So, in honor of the newest installment, we asked: What advice might the toys offer our grad students? Here are a few lessons from Andy’s room and beyond.
Woody: “You’re my favorite deputy.”
Find your people. Graduate school is so much better when it’s not a solo endeavor. Faculty advisors, mentors, lab mates, writing partners, friends and family all become part of your support network. Be someone's deputy and let others be yours.
Buzz Lightyear: “To infinity and beyond!”
Every grad student starts a project believing that the work matters and can make a difference. Keep that ambition. Just remember that a thesis or dissertation is only one step in the journey. It doesn't have to solve every problem or be a page-ready New York Times bestseller just yet. "Beyond" comes after graduation.
Rex: "I'm going for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it."
Imposter syndrome and self-doubt are common in graduate school. Your colleagues are more uncertain than they appear. Feeling unqualified is often a sign that you're adventuring into new intellectual territory.
Jessie: “Fear is a four-letter word.”
Graduate school requires us to do hard things: ask difficult questions, accept help, share unfinished work, and venture into the unknown. When fear or frustration take over, return to the questions and passion that brought you here in the first place. Let purpose be bigger than fear.
The Aliens: “The claaaaaaaw.”
Graduate school involves forces beyond your control: research surprises, changing timelines, committee conflict (eek!), funding setbacks. Submit the proposal, hand over the manuscript, apply for the grant, and trust the process. Worrying changes nothing.
Hamm: “You heard of kung fu? Well, get ready for pork chop.”
You don't have to do graduate school exactly like everyone else. Bring your own strengths, perspectives, and experiences to your work. Scholarship and creative work advance because we bring different approaches.
Lotso: "First thing you gotta know about us: We're a community. We take care of our own."
Setbacks are part of graduate school—but your colleagues’ successes do not diminish your own. The best graduate communities are built on support. There will be days when you celebrate and lift others, and days when others celebrate and lift you. Choose generosity over comparison, and take care of one another. We all rise together.
Slinky Dog: “Golly bob-howdy!"
The correct response to finishing your first semester, receiving IRB approval, getting the internship, fixing that stats model, or finally recognizing passive voice on your own is to celebrate the win. Grad students are often so focused on major milestones that they forget to pause and acknowledge the progress they're making along the way.
“You’ve Got a Friend in” Graduate School: The Complete Collection
Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Hamm, Lotso, Slinky Dog, and even the Aliens offered some great advice for thriving in grad school: find your people, celebrate progress, remember your purpose, release the worries, and show up for one another.
After all, graduate school often rewards independence, but your community contributes so much to completion. The grad students who thrive are resilient. Not only do they decide to keep going when it is hard, but they also often make the decision to ask for—and offer—help, build relationships, seek feedback, join study and writing groups, and support others along the way.
And if you're staring at a blank page today, remember Buzz's wisdom:
"This isn't flying. This is falling with style."
That's a surprisingly good definition of a first draft. Write anyway.
