On Thursday, September 7th, 2023, the student success coach team at Elgin Community College held a workshop to combat imposter syndrome in room B-166 from 12:30-1:30 PM. During this event, students watched several videos, learned coping mechanisms, and participated in open discussions about their personal struggles with imposter syndrome.
“Imposter syndrome, the best way I can explain it, is basically feeling like you are an imposter yourself,” said Student Success Coach Julia Perez. “Feeling like, even though you are qualified, you aren’t. Or, that the things you have succeeded in were just because of luck and not because you actually achieved it.”
Perez, along with the other two success coaches currently working at ECC, organized this workshop to raise awareness about imposter syndrome. Their goal was to teach students how to cope with feelings of self-doubt, which the team says are especially prevalent in higher education.
Citing research done by Brigham Young University, the success coach team pointed out that around 20% of students in college experience imposter syndrome at some point during their academic career.
“That is 1 out of every 5,” Perez said during the workshop. “It’s also seen across academia in faculty as well, so it’s not uncommon.”
However, the team wondered, “Do students know what imposter syndrome is if we make that the title? How do we relate to them?”
Thus, they decided to call the workshop, “You Belong Here… No Cap”, in an attempt to relate to the student population and create more awareness for the event.
During the event, Student Success Coach Victor Brito shared his personal experiences with imposter syndrome.
“As a student, when I got to community college, I was very lost,” Brito said. “The whole experience, I was just like, ‘Damn, do I even belong here?’”
Brito described how throughout both his academic career and professional career, imposter syndrome prevented him from taking certain opportunities due to feelings of unworthiness.
“[Imposter syndrome] did hold me back sometimes, even applying to jobs,” Brito said. “There was the fear that, ‘O.K., what’s the point of even putting my application in? I won’t be able to contend against the [other applicants] with these awesome degrees.’”
After the event, second-year student Cameron Townsend expressed that he felt that the workshop was both helpful and inspirational.
“I really learned something about myself and imposter syndrome,” Townsend said. “It’s inspiring to hear other people going through the same thing, especially the leaders of the meeting, Victor and Julia. It’s good to know that people in their positions feel the same way. Thank you to [them], because it takes a lot of courage to present things like that.”
The success coach team plans to organize similar workshops in the future, such as the “Rise and Thrive” workshop on motivation and goal setting in October. If students are interested in attending these workshops, fliers posted around campus list the times and locations of future events.
