Devon Isaacs is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She earned her BA in psychology at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. She is currently in her third year of Utah State University’s clinical/counseling PhD program, where she studies the intersection of culture and mental health. She is a Presidential Doctoral Research Fellow and Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow and serves as a student representative for the Society of Indian Psychologists. She is currently working with her advisor to implement a Howard Hughes Inclusive Excellence grant at USU. Upon completing her degree, Isaacs hopes to contribute to the field of mental health by working with her tribe to build on empirical research and culturally competent therapeutic practice. Her long-term goal is to teach at the university level to address the need for supporting Native American students seeking careers in the social sciences.

When you first arrived on campus, did you find it difficult to manage your time?

Absolutely. As an undergraduate it was difficult to balance school, work, and family. I learned a lot of skills for managing my time through trial and error. Graduate school was a whole new learning curve that really tested those skills. In the first year, I found I was doing things like forgetting to eat and was rarely taking care of my physical health. The “aha” moment came from connecting to people in my research lab, my advisor, and members of my cohort. If I wasn’t taking care of myself mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, I wasn’t going to be effective as a student or a human being. It all came down to not effectively managing and valuing my time.

What were some of the biggest challenges to life on campus in terms of balancing your workload with other activities?

I’m a “give everything 110 percent” kind of person, but this isn’t sustainable. Certainly, I was not realistic in the beginning about how much of my time and resources I had to give. So it’s important to draw attention to the challenge of boundary setting. Over time I learned that it’s okay to prioritize what’s important to you. It’s okay to put a project aside for a few days while you tend to your family responsibilities. It’s okay to not be pressured into speaking for your entire race, or to not have to always educate others on what it means to be an Indigenous person. Boundary setting works for homework and research projects too. I’ll set myself a given amount of time to write a paper or study, and then I’ll keep my “appointment” with the gym. Communicating your boundaries to others is key, and they can help hold you accountable.

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