Dissertation to Article

I successfully defended my dissertation almost two years ago. I knew that I wanted to turn my dissertation into a journal article but, after being done with what took over a year to write (not counting the course work), I did not find the motivation. The longer I take the more work I will have to do because the articles I used will get too old. I told myself that I would convert it at the start of 2015 and I even found articles on how to turn a dissertation into an article. When that did not happen I said that I would do it in December, clearly that also did not happen given the title of this post. J

Certainly the thought of cutting my 107-page dissertation to 10 pages is overwhelming. In part, this is the reason why it has taken me this long. I have read the articles that are supposed to help guide me and I still do not know where to start. However, I do not want to keep putting it off hence I find myself in the proverbial crossroads. The whole journey of a thousand miles bit. I had my dissertation bound however, I had not opened it until today and it felt surreal. After all, that work, all the frustration, the tears, it is a book collecting dust in my room. I literally had to wipe it just now when I opened it. That is a concrete sign that I have let it sit too long.

The title of my dissertation is Latino Student Perceptions of College Experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There has not been a lot of research on Latinos at HBCUs. I myself did my Ph.D. program at an HBCU hence, the topic was of interest to me. Also, I knew that if I was going to have to do research in order to publish a dissertation I wanted it to be something that made a difference in the academy. I really enjoyed the research process and talking with Latinos at different HBCUs. Ultimately I would like to write a book on Latino student experiences comparing and contrasting among Hispanic-serving institutions (HIS), predominantly White institutions (PWIs), and HBCUs.  However, if I can’t manage to convert my dissertation into an article I am certainly not going to complete a book. I need to change my mindset and start this process.

I am the worst procrastinator. It is a miracle that I completed my program in 3 and a half years (God is good!). In my mind after graduation, I would become this expert on Latinos at HBCUs except for the fact that I have been lazy. Lazy to  start on this journal article in order to get some notoriety in the field. I need someone to shake some sense into me expect this time I have to push myself. No one else has a stake on this except for me. Therefore, I need to invest in myself and do something that matters to me. Completing the dissertation was not easy. There was more than one bump along the way. In spite of the hiccups, I thought when I graduated and walked across the stage it would be the most amazing day in my life but it wasn’t. Regardless of what it was or it wasn’t the deed is done and I want to be sure I do something more with my degree hence publishing is in order. The only thing I am missing in my vita is publishing. The time has come and there is no more time to waste!