Managing Anxiety as a Graduate Student and a Graduate Assistant

You have deadlines in front of you and bigger ones looming at the back of your mind. Sometimes you make mistakes or lose track of why you worked so hard to get here in the first place. This is grad school.

But grad school is a lot of other things too. It’s a chance to grow as a person and a professional. It’s a chance to prioritize learning. It’s a time to work with your favorite species or participate in a panel with one of your heroes. It’s a time when the people around you understand much of what you are going through. You have resources, friends, and colleagues. You worked so hard to get here, and now you’re here. You’re really here.

As a panelist for the “Professionalism & Supervisor Communication: Setting Expectations, Boundaries, and Growth” session at the Fall 2025 Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Orientation, I joined Dr. Kari Smith and others to discuss how easy it can be to let the hard parts of grad school keep you from enjoying the incredible parts. Below are tips to keep you grounded, fulfilled, and focused on what you came here to do.

Graduate Student Duties

• Be proactive when you realize you are struggling. Reach out for help.
• Meet with your professors regularly, especially your committee.
• Schedule office hours for your schoolwork. Respect this time.
• Use the structure provided. Go to The Writing Lab, The Edith Garland Dupré Library, or Wake Up & Write; make study groups; have reading/writing partners; and use Graduate School Resources.
• Remember: your physical health impacts your mental health. Breathe. Hydrate. Sleep. Get sunshine.
• Read and work as much as possible on topics you are passionate about. This will help you remember why you’re in grad school when it gets hard. If you don’t use it in school, you can use it for a conference or journal.
• Take your craft/research specialty seriously. Don’t let awkwardness, imposter syndrome, or people who don’t get you slow you down.
• Make a syllabus for long-term projects/passions. Create tangible, realistic goals. Treat it like homework.
• Advocate for yourself and your passions. Seek professors you have overlapping interests with and ask for book recommendations and career advice. If they don’t post office hours or you don’t have a class with them, reach out via email and ask if you can meet with them.

GA/GTA Duties

• Reach out to your supervisor with concerns about balancing work and school; they can help you strategize how to work more efficiently.
• If you don’t know something, ask.
• Schedule office hours for your GA/GTA work and clock out when those hours are done. Remember: you are a student first. Your time is valuable.
• Your supervisor is responsible for clearly communicating expectations. You can always politely ask for clarification when confused.

Professionalism

• Again: if you don’t know, ask. For example: 
  “In your last email, you used your first name. Do you prefer that name or are there settings where you prefer Dr. ______?” 
  “You look familiar, but I can’t quite remember your name. Can you remind me?”
• You will wear a lot of hats (student, GA/GTA/GRA, colleague, panelist, committee member, etc.). So will your professors and peers. Pay attention to context and ask for clarification if there is a social aspect you do not understand.
• Thank the people who support and inspire you. Handwritten notes are a sincere gesture. Make sure they know the difference they made.
• If your supervisor or professor doesn’t treat you with respect, the graduate coordinator for your department or a professor you trust can help you navigate the situation. You deserve to feel safe and respected.
• If you think you’ve really messed up (missed a big deadline, sent an email when angry, etc.) ask to meet with the other party to resolve it. You can also go to the Counselling and Testing Center or UWill for guidance on personal issues.

Finances

• Use campus resources (Campus Cupboard and Career Closet, the Student Fitness Center, The Writing Lab, Counselling and Testing Center, UWill (Online Counselling and Teletherapy), Student Health, The Edith Garland Dupré Library, Career Services, Grad School Professional Resources).
• Use community resources (Acadiana Cares, Moncus Park—free parking at Moncus on Mondays, The Public Library).
• Save. Save. Save. Even if you are currently fine financially. You will need money for conferences, PhD applications, moving to a new job, etc.
• Go to Money Matters lunches!