ABSTRACT
In my office, I have displayed items that bring me joy. There are pictures of my husband and my children, artwork and notes from them, thank you cards from colleagues, my first published articles, a sparkling frame proclaiming, “She believed she could so she did,” my framed doctoral degree (evidence of the quotation), and the acknowledgement page from my dissertation. The acknowledgement reads:
I tacked this up in my office right behind my chair because it reminds me that while I may struggle, if I have the right people at my back, I can do anything. *ETAP: Educational Theory and Practice **ACRIDAT: Albany Consortium for Research in Instructional Design and Theory
Thousands of days comprise the time between beginning the doctoral study and successfully defending a dissertation. Those are thousands of opportunities to wake up to challenges and run into roadblocks. Life goes on. The idea that women are urged not to have children or to set aside personal life while pursuing professional degrees is like asking us to perform miracles or control time. In the course of my doctoral study, I bought and remodeled a house; adopted a dog; had a child; wrote and ran part of a grant; worked as a tutor, a technical writer, and an adjunct instructor; got divorced; fell in love; put my house up for sale and moved; said final goodbyes to loved ones; and took an internship that would eventually lead to my dream job. But for every challenge I met in those five years, there was someone who was willing to reach out and help me as long as I was willing to accept their help.
