I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr Erica Speakman, a professor at McMaster University. The courses she teaches shape how many students understand themselves and others. Some of my favourite classes with her include Child Clinical Psychology and The Self and Identity, which introduced many of the concepts explored in this article.
Through a sociological/social psychological lens, Dr. Speakman challenges the idea that student struggles are purely individual, showing how identity, pressure, and belonging are deeply shaped by social environments.
Imposter Syndrome Isn’t Just “In Your Head”
Many students feel like they don’t belong academically, even when they are doing well. According to Dr. Speakman, this isn’t simply a personal flaw. She explains that imposter syndrome is shaped by “the environment, situation, context, interaction, and social comparison,” where students constantly assume others are doing better than they are.
This becomes even more complex when considering gender. She notes that women, particularly in STEM, are often socialized to doubt their abilities, leading them to interpret success as a mistake rather than something earned.
University is not just about academic performance; it is also about navigating uncertainty, identity, and the “existential crisis of graduating.” Although she didn’t expect it, Dr. Speakman has been a great cheerleader and source of support for her students.
Erica’s takeaway: If you feel like an imposter, it may not reflect your ability, but rather the social comparisons and expectations surrounding you.
Curating the Self in the Digital Age
Students today present different versions of themselves across platforms, especially on LinkedIn. Dr. Speakman explains this through audience awareness. “It’s your audience,” she says. LinkedIn, in particular, involves “a level of professionalism and lots of curating and paying attention.”
Rather than seeing this as manufactured, she frames it as intentional identity management. It is, in her words, a “tactical front stage,” where students are mindful of how they present themselves. At the same time, the pressure to be authentic online creates its own challenges. She points out that even a “make-up-free selfie is not authentic and is very curated.”
Dr. Speakman argues that the idea of being “authentic” online can be a bit of a falsehood. “If you put in effort, it’s a problem, and if you don’t, it’s a problem… You just can’t win.” So her honest and beautifully put advice: “Just do you, because people will be buttheads.”
Erica’s Takeaway: Online authenticity is often constructed. Being aware of this can reduce the pressure to meet impossible standards.
Why Asking for Help Feels So Hard
Despite increased conversations about mental health, many students still struggle to admit when they need help. Dr. Speakman explains that asking for help is “really hard to do,” especially when students assume that everyone else is succeeding.
This is reinforced by earlier experiences in high school, where students are often told that they will be struggling and that professors are mean, shaping expectations of help-seeking before they even enter university. As a result, she notes that many students begin to internalize their struggles, tying academic challenges to their self-worth and assuming that “everyone is doing well except them.”
Her advice is simple but powerful: “Ask for help. Find community… Find someone you’re comfortable with.”
Erica’s Takeaway: You are not meant to do university alone. Seeking support is a strength, not a weakness.
The Bystander Effect on Campus
Even in communities that emphasize accountability (like university campuses), students often hesitate to intervene in situations such as harassment or discrimination. Dr. Speakman explains this issue through the concept of diffusion of responsibility. People will assume “others will take care of it,” she says. They may also feel uncertain about whether the situation is serious enough to act.
Importantly, she notes that this hesitation does not mean people are bad. Instead, it reflects a mental process of weighing risks and responsibilities.
Her advice is practical: “Make eye contact, single somebody out. If they walk away, go to someone else.”
Erica’s Takeaway: Small, concrete action can help overcome hesitation and create a more supportive campus environment.
Seeing University Through a Sociological Lens
Dr. Speakman believes that understanding concepts like stigma, identity performance, and social norms can transform how students navigate university.
It allows students to develop “a higher level of awareness of what you’re doing, thinking, and how you’re engaging.” Rather than feeling controlled by pressure, students can begin to recognize the systems and expectations shaping their experiences.
A more personal side of Dr. Erica Speakman
Through rapid-fire questions, Dr. Speakman offered a glimpse into the unfiltered side of herself and her academic journey.
Biggest advice for students?: “Ask for help.” It’s something she didn’t do enough in undergrad, and something she continues to emphasize now.
Something she wishes she had known while completing her PhD?: “The illusion of job security.” As a first-generation student from a lower-income background, she believed academia would lead to financial stability, but quickly realized how “very precarious” it is to actually break into the field.
Hardest moment of her academic journey?: “Graduate-level stats.” However, she reframes it as a mindset issue: it’s about seeing it “as a logical problem as opposed to a numbers problem.”
Her greatest support system through her academic journey?: Her partner, Blake. She describes him as her “emotional support giant,” who became her anchor through it all. He would literally bring her pizza while she cried under her desk, reminding her she wasn’t alone. That is true love.
Something people don’t know?: She was actually suspended in high school.
Finally, her dream career if not in sociology and social psychology?: Acting.
Being able to sit down and revisit some of my favourite learned concepts from undergrad, especially while being so close to graduating, made this conversation even more meaningful! More than anything, Dr. Speakman’s insights highlight that many of the struggles students experience are not personal failings, but reflections of the environments they navigate.
Ultimately, developing a deeper awareness of the social forces shaping your experience can make university feel not only more manageable, but more intentional, and perhaps even a little less isolating.