The fall semester of my first year ended 27 days ago.
Officially, I have completed two semester of doctoral work. Here is a reminder of what I thought after I completed my first semester. Exciting things I experienced this semester as a result of being a doctoral student in this program:
- Induction into Kappa Delta Pi – Mu Lambda Chapter
- Book Scholarship for participating in the School of Education Design Jam for the “Innovation Design” Challenge by the VCU da Vinci Center
- Connecting with different book authors/scholars: Joy and John Hoffman, Beth Berila, and C. P. Gause
- Establishment of a support group with other Black women doctoral students
My top 3 takeaways of the fall semester:
- I truly LOVE the leadership philosophy that I created. It has been amazing getting feedback from my colleagues on my application of the philosophy.
- I have a clearer path career trajectory due to intense and intentional reflection and analysis of my current job.
- When I truly focus on each of my students uniqueness, the relationships we build and the feedback I am able to give them feels more authentic and genuine.
Most days I am stuck between disbelief that I am on my way to completing a life goal:
And thinking, “Oh, God… do I have enough time in the day to be Stevara after parenting, working, learning, and growing.”
To further immerse myself into this program, I took an inventory of how I spent my time, both personally and professionally. I realized I constantly overextended myself at work, taking on unnecessary additional work. To allow myself time for self-care and relaxation, I made a promise to myself to only take on projects that are absolutely required by my job and to remain dedicated 100% to parenting. Unfortunately, this meant that I also decided to step down as the faculty advisor for a student organization that I have grown to love.
I am ready for semester number three… and the formative assessment that comes along with completing my first year as a doctoral student.