Overcoming Imposter Syndrome As A BIPOC Student

According to the Harvard Business Review, imposter syndrome can be defined as "doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud." Studies find that this phenomenon disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments. Many question whether they’re deserving of accolades.

Despite the fact that feelings of insecurity are an anticipated and natural component of working and student life, people who experience them are labeled as having imposter syndrome. Even when we show strength, ambition, and perseverance, our everyday fights with microaggressions, particularly stereotypes and racism-based expectations and assumptions, sometimes bring us down. Imposter syndrome as a concept fails to grasp this dynamic and instead places the burden of dealing with the consequences on BIPOC. Workplaces continue to focus on finding individual solutions to problems that are disproportionately caused by discrimination and power abuses.

Self-doubt and the notion that we don't fit in professional environments might be even more pronounced for BIPOC. Not because minorities are born with a weakness, but because the combination of our ethnicity and gender frequently puts us in a difficult position.

Who is deemed ‘professional’ is an assessment process that’s culturally biased and skewed

Tina Opie, associate professor at Babson College

The pressure to achieve can become too great to bear when employees from marginalized backgrounds strive to hold themselves to a standard that no one else has accomplished (and that they're typically not expected to meet).

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When navigating undergrad as a first-generation college student, the feeling of unwelcomeness can become overbearing and overwhelming. As mentioned previously, self-doubt is a feeling all too familiar for BIPOC in professional and educational settings. This could be due to the lack of representation present in these types of environments which can be deemed intimidating when acknowledging the nagging stereotypes that surround underrepresented communities. Being able to overcome these obstacles are pivotal to a successful and enriching college experience. Many of us doubt the idea of struggling with imposter syndrome as we do not deem ourselves good enough to struggle with such a phenomenon. This is another issue in and out of itself. Imposter syndrome has nothing to do with your personal capabilities and achievements and everything to do with low self-perception.

Insecurity often dawns among those who struggle to accept their accomplishments. Not necessarily because they don't find themselves capable of such accomplishments, but rather because they sell themselves short within the setting said person finds themselves in. This alone is an important factor in how the person takes upon the validity of their work. The constant questioning and bargaining of their full potential is an intriguing dilemma that sucks many in academia to the extent of emotional and mental exhaustion.

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This topic is not discussed enough within the scientific community. Scientist constantly struggle with imposter syndrome considering the strenuous and high stress environment they are constantly exposed to. The need for praise and affirmation is an inevitable need for many who strive through academics. This is a dangerous endeavor only a few manage to escape. Being able to navigate this phenomenon results exponentially difficult as we pursue higher education. The STEM field is incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, but more often than not, it creates a false sense of security for those who rely heavily on academic validation. This false sense of security leads many high-achieving people to question their value in academia, creating a viscous cycle of insecurity that is never ending, ultimately affecting overall performance and self-esteem.

Overcoming imposter syndrome is a difficult task to take on, especially as a first-generation college student where the pressure to achieve can become too great to bear when marginalized stereotypes hold us to a standard that no one else has accomplished (and that they're typically not expected to meet). It is within our human nature to doubt ourselves and our capabilities, but it is our job to fight these intrusive thoughts and look beyond this polarized barrier of successes and failure. Your experience, knowledge, skills, and background have led you to where you are today, so recognize you deserve to be there.

Imposter syndrome is the province of the successful, of the high-achievers, of the perfectionist. That's the irony

Kate Hilton