From my dissertation

Acknowledgements

My dissertation consists of three papers, and I had already started thinking about what I would write in this acknowledgment long before the first one was even finished. Because I believed in my ability to accomplish this, and I also knew that many people would be there to support me throughout the journey.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my dissertation committee.

To my chairs, Dr. Donna Gibson and Dr. Yaoying Xu—thank you for your thoughtful feedback, unwavering encouragement, and your good humor in letting me sneak memes into my prospectus and defense slides. More than that, you have both been inspiring role models, showing me what it means to be faculty members who lead with brilliance, empathy, leadership, and genuine care. I’m truly grateful for your patience and guidance, which encouraged me to grow as a researcher, an educator, and a professional. People often emphasize how important it is to have a supportive dissertation chair, and I was the lucky one who had two.

To my committee members, Dr. Abigail Conley and Dr. Chi-Ning Chang, thank you for your insightful comments, generous time, and valuable guidance that strengthened my paper in many ways. I am also grateful for your support in sharing datasets and supervising my data analysis, which greatly enhanced the quality of my work.

To my collaborators: Ms. Margaret Poandl and Dr. Sergio Chaparro, I appreciate your valuable support on Paper 2. I would also like to thank the VCU Spit for Science research team for sharing the datasets that supported my work on Paper 3.

Though I do not know them personally, I want to express my deepest appreciation to the participants whose data made this research possible. As survivors of sexual assault, their willingness to share their experiences contributes to a broader understanding and, I hope, to meaningful change. It is my sincere hope that this research honors their strength and helps inform more compassionate and effective support for others like them.

I would like to thank the faculty in the VCU School of Education: Dr. Belcher, Dr. Dockery, Dr. Hinchey, Dr. Mullen, Dr. Naff, and Dr. Wheeler for their continued encouragement and guidance. I am also grateful to my cohort: Audra, Jessica, Kelly, Kristen, Morgan, and Rachel, as well as my “unofficial” cohort: Charlie and Alan, for the mutual support and encouragement we shared throughout our doctoral studies. Special thanks to my friends Carol, Du, Jared, Jiajia, Jiayi, and Wuwei. Your endless texting and gossiping turned my dissertation and job hunt madness into something almost enjoyable. I’m not sure if I laughed more at your messages or cried over my drafts and interview preparation, but either way, you kept me going. I owe you boba, BBQ, and spa.

I also want to express my deepest appreciation to my parents. They don’t speak English, so I would like to write this part in Chinese, and the following paragraph is the English version:

When I was little, at different stages of childhood, people would often ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My answers changed over time. Once, I said I wanted to be a princess, because she always ends up living happily ever after with the prince. My mom smiled when she heard that. Later, I wanted to be a flight attendant. After my first time on a plane, I thought it was amazing that they could fly every day and speak “foreign languages” fluently. My mom smiled again, then asked me to write an 800-word diary about the trip. I also once said I wanted to be a PhD. I didn’t even know what a degree was back then, I just thought it sounded like a very impressive title. This time, my mom didn’t just smile, she said, “If you ever become a PhD, I’ll wake up laughing in my dreams.”

Looking back, I’ve somehow lived out all three dreams. Mr. Lin is my “Linderella”, a true master of the kitchen, the home, and the keyboard. He has been the perfect partner, and he’s the one who will continue walking beside me as we build our very own Disney-style happy ending. I studied abroad in the U.S., learned English, and now take at least one 20-hour long-haul flight between China and America every so often. Now, my parents already know I’ve passed my oral defense. As I write this acknowledgment, it’s morning back home in China. I hope my mom really did wake up laughing, and my dad woke up to the sound of her laughter.

I want to thank my parents for not steering me away from academics and into dance school when I scored a glorious 29 on a chemistry test; for signing me up for every tutoring class they could find when others said, “Girls don’t need that much schooling”; and for betting on me, a “green stock” during K-12, even when gold seemed like the safest bet.

After fulfilling this PhD goal that my mother said she could wake up laughing in her dreams, people asked me, “What do you want to do after graduation?” This time, my mom said the new goal is something she never even dared to dream of for me.

I can almost see my future self standing at each crossroads, hesitating, rambling that I want to retire young while anxiously urging myself to take the next step, and then the next, until one day, I get there.

And I’ll get there! Because I know, just like always, everyone I list in this acknowledgment will be with me every step of the way.