Today’s post was written by library student assistant Judite do Bem Sampaio. Judite is an international student from Portugal double-majoring in economics and entrepreneurship.
Angélica Gutiérrez’s began her presentation by introducing two central concepts from her research: imposter syndrome and “imposterization” (her term), and explained the key difference between them. Imposter syndrome centers around internal feelings of inadequacy, whereas imposterization directs attention to environmental factors that cause people to doubt their intellectual abilities and their capacity to belong.
A particularly impactful part of the talk was her personal story. Gutiérrez shared her experiences growing up, which included being told she might not succeed academically and being misjudged in school because of her language barriers. The messages she received about herself throughout her life created her imposter feelings, which she experienced even after earning her PhD and becoming a full professor through tenure. Her genuine presentation of the subject matter established authentic connections between her academic work and human experiences.
She also discussed key research insights, including the origins of imposter syndrome and its various manifestations which include perfectionism, the need for solitary work, and the pressure to fulfill multiple responsibilities. The event’s interactive format allowed audience members to evaluate their experiences with different impostor types that they found relatable during the presentation.
The most engaging moment occurred when she described how an audience failed to understand imposter syndrome during a presentation which led to her development of imposterization. She understood from their feedback that people believed their experiences came from outside sources who doubted them instead of their personal self-doubt. This led her to develop the concept of imposterization, which reframes the issue as something influenced by systems and environments rather than just individuals.
She then connected this idea to education by demonstrating how faculty and institutions create imposterization through their unintentional actions. For example. the way students experience exclusion from their learning environment results from small actions that include name mispronunciation and exclusionary language use and rushed office hours interactions. The audience shared their personal experiences which included accessibility difficulties and issues with classroom communication and their feelings of being undervalued in specific academic fields.
Gutiérrez concluded his presentation with different strategies that help people combat the negative impacts which start with experience identification and back to its roots and then proceed to track their personal accomplishments. She showed that organizations need to implement complete changes because organizations create the problem of imposterization.
Audience reactions showed how much the talk resonated. One noted, “She shared powerful personal experiences that made the talk feel very genuine and relatable.” The interactive element stood out as well, with one person saying, “She was very relatable, and the audience asked fantastic questions that made the discussion even more engaging.” Others reflected more deeply, including a retired teacher who said the talk made them think more about their own classroom experiences. Overall, the event was described as both fun and meaningful, with one attendee summarizing it best: “This was so much fun. She was especially dynamic and made the entire evening enjoyable.”
This talk encouraged everyone reflect on how to become more aware of their impact in everyday conversations to ensure they aren’t inflicting any imposterization on anyone. To me, it was a wake up call of the importance of staying informed as even the slightest comments can impact someone and how these comments can play in shaping someone’s feelings and confidence in the future.