Hi, I’m Dr Michelle Gibbs, your Scholarly Mama® Coach & Mentor!
I am the Mama behind of Mrs Mummy PhD®, Founder of Scholarly Mamas® and Author of Doodle Dozen®. I am married to my high school sweetheart and together we have three sons.
As a Clinical Academic Researcher, I get to combine my knowledge, skills and experience to positively impact the lives of others through my work. I could not be more grateful for this!
But Mrs Mummy PhD® comes from a place of lived experience and is all about helping Mamas, who happen to also be on doctoral journeys, to achieve their big goals without sacrificing themselves or the family life they love!
If you’re like me and juggling many balls in real life (i.e. working hard toward your goals but also wanting to live your life with purpose and enjoy it to the full with those you love) then you are definitely in the right place.
My hope is to inspire you through the challenges you face in your own similar journeys, as you create your own legacy too!
A Love for Learning
I’ll start by sharing a bit about my journey so far. I must admit, I’ve got a bit of a love for learning.
My PhD was my 5th degree. Madness! I know. Please don’t judge 🙂
My undergraduate degree was completed in the USA and the other three were done at post-graduate level in the UK, all with top honours. My PhD is in Nutritional Sciences, and I’m pleased to say I passed my viva with flying colours!
So, one thing I know well is how to ‘succeed’ academically.
However, while studying and career building, I also married my high school sweetheart and we started a family together, becoming parents to our three wonderful sons – our three ‘son-shines’… our three heartbeats!
Redefining Success
While my journeys through the tiers of Higher Education taught me how to be successful in that aspect of my life, becoming a wife and mother, while also working towards my academic and career goals, taught me the meaning of ‘scholarly joy’ and ‘purposeful success’.
Sadly, it’s also taught me what they were not!
As a high achieving woman myself, I witnessed so many ‘successful’ people missing out on the precious moments that make this life worth living, sacrificing themselves with lives in shambles beyond all the acccolades, accomplishments and achievements. So, with a family to love and one wild life to live, I decided that this was not going to be my jam!
I eventually learned that purposeful success on my journey required a bold change my thinking regarding what success in life was really about.
I’m not saying you should not set goals for yourself. In fact, I’m a huge fan of having SMART goals and pursuing them boldly. I’m a high-achiever too and believe that as mothers, we deserve to pursue and achieve our goals – no matter how big they are or what anyone else thinks about them…
But there is a hidden danger of focusing so much on reaching those goals or that perceived ‘destination’ that we don’t even stop to enjoy the journey. Instead, we risk burnout, not reaching our goals and losing what matters most…
When we seek to discover a deeper purpose in the journeys of becoming whatever or whoever we want to be, then we can better serve every dimension of our lives in a purposeful and fulfilling way.
This is how you achieve real success, Mama…
This is how you go from the overwhelm and disillusionment of the juggle-struggle, to overflowing with scholarly joy and purposeful success.
And here on my platform, I help mothers on PhD/doctoral journeys to achieve their goals without sacrificing the important stuff and without losing themselves in the process!
In this little corner of the internet, we are changing the juggle-struggle narrative that so many of us academic mothers experience, with a little grit and whole lot of grace.
Let’s journey with purpose!
Join the journey!
I’ve created a space where other Mamas like you, who are feeling stuck in the throes of the juggle-struggle, can succeed and finish well without sacrificing what matters!
This evolving space is for clever, ambitious Scholarly Mamas® who want to elevate their journeys with purpose, while pursuing their academic goals with resilience & boldness!
If this sounds like the kind of supportive space you need, why not come join us inside Scholarly Mamas®!
Also do check out my shop with exclusive merch to empower Scholarly Mamas® like you to wear your whole selves purposefully!
If you want to begin living a more purposeful Scholarly Mama® life, then you are in the right place!
This Is Me…
Before you head off, just for fun, here are a few things I’d love you to know about me:
- I grew up on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
- Growing up, I literally lived 5 minutes from the beach! Talk about the good life eh!
- I married my beloved secondary (high) school sweetheart. My best friend, my soul mate.
- An early bird? Oh yes, that’s definitely me. Give me early mornings over late nights any day!
- Please don’t talk to me when I’m hungry… instead pray for your girl 🙂
- I love fruit (and all things fruity). What’s that? Smoothie, you say? Yes please!
- I love deep, meaningful convos! (I can talk even more than I can write, just ask my husband, haha!)
- I enjoy walking outdoors, especially in the warmer months, with my husband and our boys!
- Family is everything to me, hands down! Home drums beat first here 🙂
- I enjoy gardening too, because I think it’s when I do my best thinking.
- I try to have an attitude of gratitude in all things, but accept that I’m still a work in progress!
- Please keep it 100% real with me – I’ll definitely do the same for you as authenticity is one of my core values.
- I am a believer and Jesus follower, Amen.
So when I’m not doing clinical academic research, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our three boys as co-executive of our busy household, working on my blog, podcast, or my children’s book series!
Yes, I also have a children’s book series called Doodle Dozen®, which I would love for you to check out if you have or know any creative kids between the ages of 4-8 years. My hope is that they won’t just enjoy reading my books, but that the stories will also inspire their creativity too!
Let’s Connect!
If you want to follow me on social media, I’m on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Threads, Bluesky and Pinterest. I’m easy to find as I’m @mrsmummyphd on these platforms but I’m usually most active on Instagram.
If you would like to read my blog, feel free to start here.
Please also feel free to tune into my weekly podcast!
Can’t wait to see you inside Scholarly Mamas®!
Remember, these are our journeys of becoming!
Until next time, I’m sending you all the love and gratitude your heart can handle!
Best wishes,
