Christina Grenier: Grad School at Middle Age

Christina Grenier shares about her experiences after deciding to pursue grad school.

Earlier this summer I upended my life, moving from the Peninsula to Berkeley, to begin my master’s degree program at UC Berkeley. Pivoting careers from the tech industry into public policy had been a big leap of faith. I was determined to shift careers at age 54 and create a more purposeful path. 

Initially, I was excited and hopeful to find a community of like-minded peers, people to befriend and have thought-provoking conversations. However, a decades-old childhood trauma reared its ugly head, forcing me to face an internal narrative that ran deep in my bones. A narrative that told me that I wasn’t good enough, didn’t belong and was too old to be in grad school. 

As I looked around the room at an impressive cohort of 50+ students ranging in age from early thirties to mid-forties, it was the first time I saw myself viewed as “older.” When group projects came around, I was frequently sidelined; my input ignored or rebutted with condescending explanations of the assignment as if I hadn’t sat through the same lecture. 

Most of us assume bullying stops at the playground. It doesn’t. While I couldn’t pinpoint the exact trigger, I could feel my trauma nerves light up — on fire all day long. During an emotional meltdown, a lightbulb sparked, recalling what I learned in trauma therapy. 

Then, the voice of my late father, “Hey kid, when are you going to stop caring what other people think of you?” The old narrative was still running the show. It was time to burn it down and rewrite my narrative. With a Perspective, I’m Christina Grenier.

Christina Grenier is a technology communications professional pursuing her master’s degree at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. Outside of work and school, she’s an avid reader and traveler who spends her free time hiking and painting watercolor florals.