May 18, 2018 was the first day of my journey of becoming Dr. Clark. Why did I decide to pursue a doctorate degree when there were so many other pressing areas in my life? A good friend of mine told me that there would never be a good time to pause life and earn my doctorate. I am hopeful that when I look back on this journey that I will know that it was all worth it. As I wrote in my personal statement in my application materials:
Upon completion of this doctoral program, I want to pursue a career in higher education with a career goal of becoming a Vice Provost of Student Affairs. I aspire to become a scholar-practitioner whose research provides ethical solutions to problems surrounding: use of technology for accessible delivery of programming; allocation of financial resources for recruiting, mentoring and retaining at-risk and non-traditional students; development of competencies to assess effective student affairs practitioners; and adapting services for an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student population.
So when May 2021 arrives, I want to be able to look back and take pride in knowing that the goals I set when I applied to the program, have guided my actions and assignments. After all, not only am I completing this degree for me, but also for my daughter. I want her to know that truly anything is possible if you work hard enough for it. Here’s hoping that the many days and nights that are ahead of time are filled with learning, growth and the ability to continuously focus on self-care.
Yesterday, I completed my first day as a doctoral student! Here’s hoping to keeping this smile for the next three years in the program. #VCUEDLP2021 #VCUMakeItReal #RVA pic.twitter.com/vLx2H13R5T
— Stevara (@StevaraTweets) May 19, 2018