Writing Coaching
About Me
My
Coaching Approach
One of my biggest concerns as a writing coach is to convey joy in (academic) writing, despite the adverse circumstances that a neoliberal, colonial, white-centric, classist, ableist, cis-heteronormative institution brings to many of us. Writing should be more than just squeezing out appropriate words and fulfilling academic conventions. For me, writing is a "gesture of the body" (Gloria A. Anzaldúa), an embodied practice that allows one to gain a deep understanding of complex interconnections. After all, (academic) writing is a means of engaging with oneself and others. Re-search is usually also me-search.
I therefore follow a holistic empowerment approach that focuses on strengthening one’s own voice and pays a lot of attention to the conditions of our writing. I support my coachees in trying out and establishing routines and rituals to get into writing as well as in creating or expanding time and energy resources. I share useful tools and tips, check in, cheer on, give homework, and offer feedback. In this sense, my work is process-oriented rather than product-oriented – my aim is to accompany and support writers in the best way possible.
Depending on your needs, I accompany each or only individual steps in the writing process:
- from the narrowing down of topics and the development of a suitable research question
- to developing a structure and timetable
- to working on the first draft
- to the challenge of editing and finishing
My
Qualifications
In 2022, I completed the TIP course "Ausbildung zur Schreibtrainer*in" (writing coach training) at the writer’s studio Vienna and since 2021 I have been supporting coachees in writing their BA and MA theses, their dissertations and habilitations.
I have been teaching intersectional_queer_feminist_decolonial topics at different universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on a regular basis since 2006. I completed my PhD in Gender Studies and philosophy in Vienna and Basel in 2011 (Ban Marriage) and worked at the Gender Research Office at the University of Vienna from 2011 to 2023. In the course of my work, I have been focusing on strengthening intersectional perspectives, especially those of trans* and queer Black folks and People of Color (“Gender Talks”). I have published numerous articles, edited texts and books, and designed, organized, and moderated events.
My approach to coaching is shaped by my practice of yoga, meditation and Reiki as well as by my activist work inside and outside the university, at the center of which lies the collective creation of spaces for un_learning and empowerment (we-dey x space, QTIBIPoC Community, maiz, pink noise).
I work with the following institutions and associations
Voices
of Coachees
"Sushila helped coach me through the last stretch of my thesis. I was dealing with unmanaged ADHD and had already had to extend the submission deadline multiple times. Sushila helped me structure my work, which was important since I was really struggling getting through such a big project alone. They were also a reliable companion along the way who I could talk to and get advice from about road bumps I was running into during the research and writing process. This helped immensely since I was writing about a relatively unstudied topic and I didn’t have much institutional support to lean on. I am not overstating when I say that I do not think I would have finished without them.”
Computer Science, University of Oslo, MSc thesis: "Digital (in)security: safety for queer people of colour in a digitalised world."
"To work with Sushila has truly been deeply transforming. I spent 2 years struggling to write my dissertation while working multiple part-time jobs and living with chronic anxiety. Sushila was one of the first people to really listen to me without judgment. They helped me find clarity, self-acceptance, and move through the paralyzing fear. Through weekly meetings, we built a working relationship that taught me writing strategies and helped me make long-term sustainable changes to my writing process. Sushila's weekly feedbacks were not only brilliant but also thoughtful. I am so deeply thankful for having had the opportunity to learn and think with this wonderful human. I sincerely hope more people get to have this huge privilege."
Anthropology, Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, PhD project: "Individual and Collective Struggles, Aspirations, and Solidarities: The Intersectionality of Lived Experiences from Migrants in African Lisbon."
"Sushila's coaching was indispensable to me in the last year of writing my doctoral dissertation, during that crucial time when everything needs to be pulled together and the pressure build up is high. They provided both practical tools for managing worktime and strategies for structuring writing, as well as advice on how to handle the mental intensity of that last push without burning out. I am grateful for Sushila's highly professional yet also personable approach, which helped me feel encouraged and empowered to achieve this milestone."
Research Center for Information System Design (ITeG), University of Kassel, PhD thesis: "Learning Otherwise: Reconfiguring Machine Learning with Feminist Epistemologies."
"I was in need of a wholesome approach to writing my thesis and am so happy that Sushila has been working with me. They were so compassionate and rigorous and really helped me identify my aims and also trusting myself. Where before there was quite a lot of anxiety and also the feeling of isolation, working with Sushila allowed me to think and create from a place of connectedness and desire."
PhD-in-Practice program of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, PhD Thesis: "Dissonance – Sensual Hierarchies and Colonial Reverberations of/in Sound".
"It has been such a pleasure to work together with Sushila Mesquita. It has been challenging for me to carve out time for my Habilitation besides all of my other administrative, teaching responsibilities but also my hobbies and family life. Sushila has helped me to think and plan my priorities, reflect on my different roles and responsibilities and provide tools to support my research and writing process. They have helped to provide me with the accountability that I need to prioritize my own research."
Post-Doc in Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck