Graduation Weekend

This weekend was amazing.  I got to see my parents who I haven't seen in over a year and a half.  They drove all the way from Las Vegas to see me walk across the stage.  I have to say, that 15 seconds of walking across the stage was the culmination of 10 long years of hard work.  I loved hearing my name Jennifer A. Lamb, Organizational Management, Summa Cum Laude.  I couldn't help but be emotional.  It was an incredible feeling, knowing I had accomplished something that only 1/4 of all adults have ever accomplished. 

Bill Walton was our commencement speaker.  He had amazing stories to share and wonderfully encouraging things to say.  What an honor to meet such a great man.  To be where he is and to know where he came from was encouraging to say the LEAST.

I was able to meet him after the ceremony and shake his hand.  He made me feel as though I had come so far and earned something so great.  He even signed my commencement program.

Now, the future awaits.  I am still in the process of obtaining my Master of Arts in Teaching with Learning and Technology degree.  I will be done December 6, 2010 and starting January 3, 2011, I will be pursuing my Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Adult Learning degree.  Life is exciting to say the least.

To all my family, my friends, and everyone who has ever supported me along the way, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  Without your love and support, I could never have achieved this great accomplishment and been able to walk across the stage and take my diploma with pride.  It was a great day!

Finished my first master's class!

Well, I was successful!  I completed my very first master's class with 100% (I think).  I just have to receive my grade for the discussions.  But I am confident it will be 100%.  I'm very excited and this just goes to show that I can totally do this.  One class down, NINE more to go.  I'll be done December 6 if all goes well.  :-)  Then...  on to pursuing my doctorate in education.  I'm actually really excited about the possibilities that degree will afford me.  It will give me a solid foundation on which to build my skills and it will help provide Mike with some of his own dreams too.  I'm still a little nervous but wow, am I excited!  I'm looking at several graduate schools that offer doctoral programs online.  I'm leaning more toward Walden University, but Capella, Nova Southeastern, and Argosy are all contenders as well.  I'm actually very excited to see what the future may hold.  Will be interesting to see.  Maybe one day we'll end up in San Diego again!  That would be great!

To PhD or not to PhD, that is the question!

I have come to a point in my life where I feel as though more is necessary.  I am not sure why.  Maybe not MORE, just different.  Ten years ago I graduated from college, ready to earn my degree in elementary education.  I had a plan and a full ride scholarship to help me reach that plan.  During my first year of school, I partied more than I should have and my GPA suffered.  My second year, same story.  I lost my full ride, then just got way burnt out on school trying to get caught up.  So, through the burnout phase, I quit.  I left school.  Left it all behind and wasted credits. 

Four years later, I got the urge to go to school again and finish what I started...  well, start over and THEN finish what I started...  So, 10 years after graduating high school, I find myself with a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management from Ashford University and pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching with Learning and Technology.  My goals have changed, my ideas have changed.  My career path is definitely not what I pictured myself doing ten years ago.  I'm a different person though.  And with that different person comes different ideas, goals, and plans. 

I know I want to teach college courses.  With the degrees I will have by the end of this year (the BAOM and MATLT) I will be able to teach online courses at Ashford University and possibly at a community college or another online school.  But, I know myself (too well, sometimes) and I know I would not be happy without reaching for something else.  Teaching at the university level would be a dream!  Even being a dean of a college and the responsbility of that would be an amazing dream.  I have not decided yet if it is a goal.  Big different, between a goal and a dream, I think.  But that's just me.  Would I be happy?  And if I would not be happy, is the PhD the way to go?

Teaching at the university level will eventually require a terminal degree.  However, after my MATLT program is finished, I am not sure that I would want to contribute another 3-4 years to another degree, albeit a great degree that could open countless doors and windows.

The cons to earning a PhD of course would be the cost and then the additional time.  Starting a family is something we've been talking about.  Would I be able to juggle earning a PhD AND a family AND a job???  So I'm really not sure. 

I know WHAT I want to do (teach college), but I am not sure if I will be happy there and will desire to keep reaching for more (teaching at a university or becoming a dean).  I need to pray about it and seek wisdom of those who have gone before me.  I think it would be an amazing experience to earn my PhD.  I just don't know if I am ready for the experience to happen to me yet.

Mike Walked Today!!!

So, Mike is officially a graduate of Everglades University, a student of the university no more.  He's very excited, to say the least.  The ceremony was beautiful.  The speakers were amazing and had some incredible stories to tell.  They inspired me to keep reaching for the stars and I wasn't even one of the students sitting there receiving my diploma yet.  The inspiration that the speakers leant to the students was amazing.  There was a state representative who was the keynote speaker who overcame insurmountable odds to be where she is today, being told she would never walk past age 13 due to rheumatoid arthritis.  Not only is she walking but she is representing the state of Florida doing what she loves most:  being a public servant.  Another speaker now holds a BS, an MS, and a PhD against all odds.  The stories were moving and inspiring.

Dedication to the extreme!

So, Mike took his last test, turned in his last paper today.  :-)  I cannot even begin to describe my feelings of how proud I am of him.  He never even thought he would ever go to college, and here he is, 2 1/2 long years later, a college graduate, graduating suma cum laude.  It is such a great feeling for him and I to share this together.  :-)  He certainly dedicated himself to this task and while there were MANY times he wanted to give up, he didn't.  He pushed through and now that the end is here, I asked him if he thought it was worth it.  his answer was a definite YES!