211. How I built a career and spoke at Ivy League schools from my body of work (Dr. Gertrude Nonterah)

Sometimes, silence comes at a cost. It shows up in missed job offers, overlooked talents, and years spent waiting for recognition that never arrives.

Dr. Gertrude Nonterah grew up in a culture where you weren’t supposed to promote yourself – you waited for others to notice your brilliance. But after losing her job in 2018, she realized that hard work wasn’t enough. If she didn’t learn to speak up and share her story, she’d keep getting passed over.

Today, Dr. G is the founder of The Bold PhD, where she helps graduate students and PhDs navigate careers beyond academia. She’s a medical communications professional with a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, and she has built a body of work that speaks for itself.

In this episode of EDIT HISTORY, Dr. G shares what it really takes to build a career and a personal brand, especially when life doesn’t go to plan. From freelancing as a survival strategy to landing speaking gigs at Ivy Leagues, her story is a powerful reminder: Your consistency is your credibility.

And if you’ve ever felt behind, discouraged, or tempted to give up, this episode is for you. Let’s dive in.

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:05) Being passed over for opportunities 

(04:41) Work ethic isn’t enough

(06:16) Feeling helpless amidst unfair circumstances

(11:18) Regaining power over your situation

(15:27) Building a body of work

(20:19) Not quitting = reliability 

(23:26) Insecurities Dr. G faced

(29:39) Your content is helping people 

(34:22) Reviewing Dr. G’s past content

(41:14) Take back control of your outcomes 

(45:45) Actionable takeaways 

Prefer to listen to the audio version?

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Any Player

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Connect with Dr. Gertrude Nonterah

Website: https://theboldphd.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theboldphd 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBoldPhD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geenonterah/ 

Newsletter: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/63c76e31b4f015f30446ce4d 

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Additional Resources

ANNOTATIONS – The Newsletter

The edits that got cut from the podcast.

Every interview on EDIT HISTORY runs about 60 minutes. But less than 40 minutes makes it into the final cut. This newsletter is where the rest live.

ANNOTATIONS is where I share the 33% I left behind — and the insights that came after we stopped recording.

SUBSCRIBE AT: https://cheryllau.com/email