A dissertation proposal hearing is one of the milestones for doctoral students toward their degree and academic career. Nasiba Norova, a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics, passed this milestone by proposing her timely project–Experiencing Race: Exploring Perceptions of Race among First-Year International East Asian Students–on September 22, 2022. Her committee members are Dr. Panagiota Gounari (Chair), Dr. Corinne Etienne, Dr. Hadi Banat.

Nasiba shares her reflections on her proposal defense process: “I thought it will be mostly a question/answer type of meeting in which I need to address all questions posed by my committee members. But my defense turned out to be a friendlier event, more like a collegial meeting, where all my members shared their suggestions and recommendations on how to tackle obstacles I may encounter during data collection. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but my Chair and committee members cheered me up and granted me a Pass!“

We join Nasiba’s committee and congratulate her on such an important step in her career!