New Beginnings
My biggest fans!
This website is the beginning of my journey as a doctoral program. I made the decision to jump into the world of doctoral studies earlier this spring. At that time, I was working as an elementary school Vice-Principal. After applying to UOP, I found myself interviewing for a principalship. Within 2 weeks, I was beginning a new chapter in my career as a first year Principal and soon after as a first year doctoral student. It has been a whirlwind of a semester as a I have tried to balance a new work schedule with going back to school! It's like being a freshman in high school and walking on to campus for the first time. You don't know anybody and you feel so small in such a big environment. You get lost finding your way to class at first but then after awhile, you start to learn your way around and you find people to sit with at lunchtime!
When I entered this program, I had no idea what to expect. I was intimidated and overwhelmed by the mere thought of a doctoral program. After the first couple of classes, I was completely lost. There was so much reading to do and I honestly couldn't figure out which way was up! I was enjoying the weekly discussions with my colleagues. I found the information we discussed to be invigorating! As we approached our first writing assignment, the infamous literature review, I felt anxious and overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. That first paper was a disaster. I started getting to know my colleagues and we formed a support group to help each other through the process. As we entered the home stretch of the semester, the pieces of this seemingly complex puzzle started to come together. The reading became a bit easier to manage and I didn't feel so lost. The second major assignment was a success as I figured out the writing process and how to make it work for me. As I fit the final pieces together for this portfolio, my journey into doctoral studies is becoming clearer. It's been an exciting adventure so far and I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I am really proud of my accomplishments this semester and how I have changed and evolved as a scholar.
In my portfolio, I have assembled the various pieces that we have studied and discussed through this first semester of my doctoral experience. Included in this website are the following:
When I entered this program, I had no idea what to expect. I was intimidated and overwhelmed by the mere thought of a doctoral program. After the first couple of classes, I was completely lost. There was so much reading to do and I honestly couldn't figure out which way was up! I was enjoying the weekly discussions with my colleagues. I found the information we discussed to be invigorating! As we approached our first writing assignment, the infamous literature review, I felt anxious and overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. That first paper was a disaster. I started getting to know my colleagues and we formed a support group to help each other through the process. As we entered the home stretch of the semester, the pieces of this seemingly complex puzzle started to come together. The reading became a bit easier to manage and I didn't feel so lost. The second major assignment was a success as I figured out the writing process and how to make it work for me. As I fit the final pieces together for this portfolio, my journey into doctoral studies is becoming clearer. It's been an exciting adventure so far and I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I am really proud of my accomplishments this semester and how I have changed and evolved as a scholar.
In my portfolio, I have assembled the various pieces that we have studied and discussed through this first semester of my doctoral experience. Included in this website are the following:
- Intellectual Identity
- A discussion of my biases and ethics regarding research
- How I define good research
- My resume
- My course plan for the next 3 years
- 2 major papers - Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
- Peer review - the last piece of the puzzle.
