In the Fall of 2018, I applied to Michigan State University College of Education Master of Arts in Education program.  When I initially started my graduate journey, I was really unsure of what path I wanted to follow.  I spent many weeks going back and forth with my advisor from Western Michigan University and my potential advisor at Michigan State University about their programs.  However, when I started in the program at Michigan State University, I knew that after completing my first two classes I selected the right school and master’s degree program.  This program has changed me in many positive and uplifting ways.  My experiences have all been extremely positive.  My academic advisor is very informed about the curriculum, degree process and has been really supportive to me as a student and concerned about me as a person.  The professors in the courses I enrolled in were always willing and able to offer assistance to ensure that I successfully completed each assignment and essentially exceled in each of the courses.  

 

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The Master of Arts in Education offered several concentration areas for students to choose from.  The area I chose was Postsecondary Leadership.  I felt that this was perfect for my career aspirations and life goals.  This pathway helped me to see the value in the work that I am currently engaged in and has given me hope for a bright future in the areas I desire to engage as a higher education professional.   Currently I am an academic advisor and this program changed the way I approach my work and has given me helpful strategies to engage students in my work.   There was a point in my career when I did not appreciate the value I could add to my work as an advisor.  This program helped me to realize academic advising is far more than an individual scheduling a student for classes, but I see how my work in advising is on the front-line of innovation in developing student success initiatives.  Academic advising requires key skills, techniques and a wealth of knowledge in order to be successful.  My courses provided me with the resources and tools I needed to help increase student success outcomes in college.  By completing this program and working with students at the same time I was able to address their concerns, learn about their challenges, develop strategies backed by research to help students to overcome barriers and by helping them find resources.  I knew that this was the start to something new and great.  

 

Each individual class provided a wealth of knowledge from course readings and class discussions.  The information that acquired by engaging in my graduate course work from each class exposed me to deeper insight on current issues in higher education, adult learning and helped me develop a greater appreciation for the change I can bring to any institution I work for.  

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There were three courses that have made the most impact on my educational journey.  The first course I want to highlight is my Education and Administration course called Adult Learning.  I completed this course with a 3.5 grade point average in the Fall of 2019 at Michigan State University.  What made this course so significant to me was the content and the assigned readings.  In addition to working as an academic advisor I have developed some interest in engaging in diversity type work.  The Adult Learning course is a perfect curriculum addition to any professional that might have a similar interest.  This course taught me the value of understanding the characteristics of each person that you may encounter in your work.  The need to understand an adult learner’s past experiences, culture and social background as well as implement new strategies for success all play an intricate part in my work.  This course introduced me to strategies and styles that are high impact and have great success outcomes when working with adult learners.   Another key element to the Adult Learning course was developing my own training and development program for adult learners.  This assignment required that I apply several key concepts from the course readings, class discussions and reflection on my own professional experiences to create a program.  This assignment was challenging but very beneficial.  Maybe one day I will be responsible for leading a professional development workshop, but what made this project more effective was learning to apply my current skills to what I was learning.  This became a new trend with me in all my workspaces.  If a discussion was brought up about a topic that connected to this course, I would take every opportunity  to share how the topic reflects my Adult Learning course in some way. 

 

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Another class that was very influential, inspiring and impressively informative was my Educational Leadership 6020 course at Western Michigan University called Leadership, Systems and Change.  I completed this course with a 3.5 grade point average during the summer of 2013.  This course was so impactful on me because I can recall several of my professor’s inspiring lectures on change, innovation and creative leadership.  The biggest highlights of the course were the required text and conceptual theories.  My favorite theory from this course was about mental images.  Mental images are a frame of mind that people within any organization develop about their work.  These models or mental images can be damaging or beneficial to an organization in various ways.  When I had to present a final project to the class I presented on mental images.  Our text highlighted several theories related to this key principle, and I remember my image that I used was a human head in the shape of a light bulb, however the light bulb was frozen with ice.  I presented on the limitations trapped thinking.  My professor thoroughly enjoyed my presentation and how I brought the concept of mental images to a new light with one graphic.  This course has helped me to approach my work and new opportunities with an open mind.  Many times, in our careers I became fixed on one way of accomplishing tasks that it made it hard for me to keep up with technology, best practices or open to new ideas.   This course exposed me to different educational models, how to evolve as an educator and how to structure my leadership style to work in different types of organizations.  This skill has helped me lead successful work projects at the community college level, mid-sized university level and even at the Big-10 level.  I can definitely agree that this course sparked a new passion and drive to move an organization forward.  

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The most challenging course that I have taken in this Master of Arts program is Education 800 the Concepts of Educational Inquiry.  I completed this course during the summer of 2020.  This course transformed my way of thinking, reading and writing.  What is so unique about this learning situation is for years I taught a course where I advocated for inquiry-based learning.  However, when it came time for me to apply what I believed I discovered how inquiry-based learning is sometimes easier said than done.   Not only did I learn more about influential leaders in the field of education, but often times in this course as I read about others instead of being inspired by their work I often became discouraged.  I wondered if I was doing enough in my academic studies and for my professional development to really make a last or profound impact on students and on education in general.  I remember writing about a pre-k to second grade teacher that found her inspiration from an eight-year old girl in her class.  Her interaction with this student totally revamped her structure of teaching and thinking.  Because of how this course made me feel emotionally instead of looking for future opportunities to allow students to inspire, motivate or activate another passion for education.  I often spent time regretting the countless number of times I may have missed learning opportunities from my students because I was so focused on leading them instead of also learning from them.  This course helped me to learn to stop and learn from different life experiences.  Another assignment in this course was to watch a movie from a different culture than my own.  The movie I selected was called Whale Rider.  This film was about a little girl that was raised in a culture that could not see her as an independent, smart or intelligent individual but only saw her as a female.  Not only did this movie reveal the culture of this family and native land, but I saw something deeper and spectacular about this little girl.  Her ability to use inquiry-based learning to grow beyond her cultural barriers was phenomenal.   This assignment has helped me as I work with international students that often times face barriers that many may not realize.  I have been able to apply these skills when assisting students that feel out of their element in college by being away from family and close friends.  Even now as we as a whole is figuring out how to be successful with remote “everything” – socializing, working and education.  I can definitely say out of all my courses, I worked the hardest in this class.  I appreciated how my professor was willing to provide thorough feedback on course assignments before I submitted them for final review.  I was very open and honest with my professor about how difficult of a time I was having with understanding the content, but he was willing to go the extra mile if I was willing to put in the work.  I was very proud to learn that I passed this course with a 4.0.  

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This journey to earning my Master of Arts degree has not been easy.  I started off not knowing how I was going to fund my education, but I ended up finding a great amount of scholarship opportunities.  Throughout this journey I doubted whether I was smart enough to be at Michigan State University, but looking back from today, Michigan State University is where I belonged.  What I love most about this program and all my courses is having a great program director, fantastic academic advisor, awesome professors that care, they wanted to see me succeed and they encouraged a supportive environment with my class peers.  Graduating in 2020 has taught me a lot of key values.  I am learning more and more to appreciate the time I have today and value the loved ones I have in my life.   Sometimes I wonder how I made it this far in my career and in life, but I am thankful for every opportunity great or small.