Finance PhD student Jamie Weathers would not have chosen the Fox School had it not been for the PhD Project.

In the fall of 2010, Weathers applied to a conference sponsored by the PhD Project, which was held in Chicago and featured an array of speakers and various networking opportunities. “It was extremely energizing, motivational, and it made you feel like you can do it,” Weathers said. Weathers, a single mother, said that she was most motivated to pursue her PhD when she heard the story of another single mother, with three children, working toward her doctorate.

While attending the doctoral school fair at the PhD Project Conference, Weathers, a Kentucky native, met Fox School Associate Dean of Research, Doctoral Programs, and Strategic Initiatives Paul A. Pavlou, as well as Bernie Milano. It was not until then that Temple University and the Fox School were on her radar.

Weathers described her first year as a doctoral students as an experience in which she had to learn how to “read” again, as she had not come from a background in academic research.  Through the PhD Project, she is a member of the Finance Doctoral Students Association (DSA), which has provided a safe space for Weathers to figure out where she stood in this new realm of academia.

“That’s the good thing about the DSA,” Weathers said of the PhD Project’s support networks in five business disciplines.  “People give you help and advice.  You get to share your experiences with others, and you know that you’re not alone.” Weathers feels just as grateful to be a part of Fox’s Department of Finance. “The faculty and my colleagues here are a wonderful support system,” she said. “Temple is a perfect fit for me.”

-Alexis Wright-Whitley