I still am in a state
of shock over what took place these last few weeks. I suppose to fully grasp the story I will
have to back up a bit to give you some context.
I submitted my master project on July 11th to be reviewed. On
July 13th, I received an email from my chair letting me know that I
should have been submitting my paper along the way for her to review and
edit. I quickly reviewed my emails from
that last few months and found a dozen in which I asked multiple times what the
process was, how much I should be communicating, asking for guidance… and no
response. Two months prior I had even submitted
my literature review (the main section of my paper) and never heard back… so I just
kept working away on my project. She
then sent me an email with suggestions for edits on my PowerPoints and what she
was hoping to see in my literature review… I started freaking out… because I knew
that she was not going to find the information she was looking for in the
literature review. I started thinking
that I did everything wrong… my poor husband kept encouraging me and telling me
that everything was going to work out… how I survived that weekend I am not
sure…
On Tuesday, I was finally
able to talk to my professor about my project a little and what I needed to do
to prepare for the defense. I then spent
the next couple weeks fine tuning my project and creating a PowerPoint to
defend my project. Once again… the night
before my defense I was super nervous and Matthew had to help calm me
down.
Finally, the big day
finally came. We drove over to Central
early so I wouldn’t have to worry about arriving late. I came prepared with assistive technology
from my classroom… materials from my curriculum that I developed… and my
PowerPoint. After getting everything up
and ready to go… my nerves finally started to calm down and I was able to relax
and enjoy the process.
I spend the next couple
hours talking to my committee (three professors) about my project. I went through an in-depth discussion about the
research I conducted on the history of teaching students with disabilities, laws
related to transition services, transition skills, teaching students with
significant disabilities, etc. We then
moved on and talked about the curriculum that I developed for my
classroom. It was a budgeting unit that
hit all of the major themes of a typical budget but also had side lessons. That way as we talked about budgeting for
food, the students could learn about eating a healthy diet.
What came next still
blows my mind… my professors started talking to me about I needed to copyright
my materials immediately… that they would walk me through the process… that I
needed to get connected to a publisher (but make sure I keep the rights to it)…
so I can speak at conferences and sell my curriculum. Also, that I needed to
publish my paper in a journal. They
ranted and raved about how awesome it was… and how it was the start to a
doctorate. By this point Matthew was in the
room with me… so I know it really happened and I didn’t just dream it. While I have no idea where God is going to
lead me in this adventure… it was an overwhelming and amazing experience.
Dr Finke, Dr. Juniel, Dr. Castillo - My Committee
After telling me "I Passed" my Orals Defense
I had a few edits I
needed to do to complete my paper… but I was able to finish those and submitted
them today. So… now I am officially
completed with my masters degree. I may
have more edits so it is ready to be published but that can come later… for now
I am celebrating the fact that I have officially graduated… I will take the
next steps one at a time..!
Finishing the last few edits...
I am done..! Time to celebrate..!
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