Education Commons^™

Exploring Exploration; Unpacking The Journey To Declaring An Undergraduate Major, Kimberly Kristine Hughes

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As an advisor for undeclared students, I see daily how anxieties around declaring a major, around getting a job after graduating, and around identifying a singular passion delay the process of finding an academic home for first years. This master’s thesis investigates undeclared students’ financial, social, personal, and familial motivations for choosing their major. It offers advice for how to find a major that aligns with these motivations, while also addressing key concerns such as time to degree, sustaining curiosity, and encouraging intellectual and creative development.

Drawing on secondary research, I will reflect upon three consistent themes: the importance of …

Resilience Amidst Adversity: The Sine Qua Non Principle For Meaningful And Effective Leadership In Education, Jennifer Jang Helgesen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Have you ever encountered difficult moments that trigger you? Do you find it difficult to monitor your internal dialogue after a setback? Do you struggle to find meaning and purpose amidst all the hardship? As leaders in higher education, we must prioritize others, often giving ourselves away in the process only to find there is nothing left within. We might feel empty, beaten down, and exhausted as others need us to repeatedly and reliably show up as competent leaders. I believe the art of cultivating resilience is the antidote for us as leaders to be meaning-filled and effective at work …

Drive: My Motivation For Becoming A Holistic And Authentic Leader And Supervisor Of College Students, Alisha Ami Oguri Lewis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In sixth grade, I did an art project where I painted a self-portrait. I decided to paint myself looking in a mirror. On the right-hand side of the canvas was the back of my head. On the left-hand side was a reflection of my face looking back at me in the mirror. During one session with my art teacher, she looked at my painting and paused before asking, “what happened?” She paused again before continuing that at one point the painting was on the right track, implying since that point, something had gone terribly wrong. I mean what was looking …

Changing The Narrative: The Educational Power Of Reading Young Adult Literature, Cary Rich Jewkes

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

We are what we read.

People read for many different reasons and outcomes. We may read for information, affirmation, escape, or inspiration. We may read to get in a better mood. Various studies have shown that readers are more apt to be empathetic, to understand that their experience is not the only experience. Through Scholarly Personal Narrative, I trace my own evolution of reading and my curious preference for Young Adult (YA) literature. Contemporary YA literature offers a unique combination of viewpoint, emotion, and transportation which allows for a deeper understanding of diverse backgrounds, and I explore whether a program …

Ankylosing Spondylitis & Chronic Pain Syndrome: Bridging The Gap Between Perpetuated Medicine & Holistic Therapies, Jarett Chizick

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS) can be treated in many different ways. I found a problem in the balance of healing modalities surrounding diagnosis and care of illness and disease. This struggle is not singular to AS and CPS, but universal to physical and mental concerns. Some effective treatments and therapies are not recognized as such or are just beginning to become so. The scope of my work reflects on the course of my life. It was heavily influenced by the way my medical care was managed from an early age and how it evolved over the …

Helping Students Find Meaning While Finding My Own: A Scholarly Personal Narrative Navigating Single-Motherhood And A Career In Admissions, Amber Rich

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

In this dissertation, I explore my role as an administrator in higher education admissions at a major university and as a working mother who faces many real world challenges. The grueling travel demands, lofty enrollment goals, campus and inter-office politics, as well as the weekend and late night hours required, made it extremely difficult to achieve a healthy work life balance in admissions while also raising a small child. Additionally, "admissions" is increasingly becoming the "hot seat" within institutions of higher education. Gone are the days of an almost tenure like quality to enrollment professionals. If an enrollment director …