Latinos with doctorate degrees working in academe were interviewed about their experiences in graduate school. They were asked to elaborate upon what they considered to be their most meaningful experiences that shaped their personal, academic and intellectual lives that influenced their success throughout graduate school. A thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five major findings that can be summed up by the acronym C.H.I.L.E. These crucial events and circumstances were experienced by all the interviewees. They were both positive and negative, and were shaped by a complex interplay of the influence of critical masses and peers, a search for identity and individuality, professional guidance, intellectualism, varied campus culture and time.