Maria graduated from OAESA with Concordia University Chicago with an M.A. in school leadership and currently works as a seventh-grade ELA teacher for a middle school in Ohio. Maria has more than 16 years as a classroom teacher and has held multiple leadership positions throughout her career. We asked her to share with us her experience pursuing her master’s degree in educational leadership. Hear what she had to say below!
Why did you want to work in education? What inspired you?
My whole life navigated me toward becoming an educator. When deciding on a major for college, there was no second choice, no decision which needed to be made as far as future careers were concerned: it was always the field of education! I now jokingly tell my students that I loved school so much when I was growing up that I wanted to keep going for the rest of my life, and so, I became a teacher.
I owe my love of school to all the wonderful teachers who cared for and taught me along the way. I was blessed to have teachers who not only loved kids but loved their content. It was through their love of literature, world history, languages, and music that I became bound and determined to become that same source of inspiration for students of my own one day.
Why did you choose OAESA with Concordia University Chicago for your M.A. school leadership degree?
I earned my first master’s degree from a traditional college 12 years prior to attending Concordia University Chicago through OAESA. At that time, I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids, and didn’t have my children’s extracurriculars to attend each night. So, going to a traditional college, which met in person once a week for several hours, was feasible. However, this time around, when I began at OAESA, my life looked very different: I was now married, had four children, and held the role of being a chauffeur each night shuttling my kids to their activities. I knew if I was going to go back to school, it would have to be with an online school which moved at a realistic pace.
After much research into online programs for Ohio educators wanting to become administrators, I was happy to find OAESA with Concordia University Chicago. It was the exact balance of family, work, and school that I could balance at this hectic point in my life. I knew I could handle one class at a time where I could interact with others. I am not the kind of person who could do a self-paced class with no sense of community; it just isn’t who I am. So, when I found OAESA’s program, I knew I had found the program that would work with my life.
What skills did you gain or sharpen through your program at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago, and how do you use them today?
I would say my writing skills were sharpened the most in the OAESA program. With each new class that I took, the professors would build upon the last requirements as far as professional writing expectations were concerned. I would start each new class and discover some new facet of writing. By the end of my program, when I had to write my final research paper, I was so proud of the professional writing that I was able to produce. Never did I picture myself as being able to write a huge 76-page paper; however, with the school’s scaffolding in place to write this paper piece by piece over an extended period of time, I was shocked to see that I had indeed written a paper to be proud of!
How has your master’s degree impacted you in terms of your current position or a position you’d like to attain in the future?
My master’s degree had an immediate and profound impact on my current position. Throughout my internship last year, I took on the role of designing, implementing, and managing a positive recognition program for my school. My principal couldn’t have been more pleased with my efforts. The school board, community, and students reacted so positively to my efforts that the school created a supplemental position for the work I began in my internship. It was satisfying to see that people appreciated the effort I was putting in to my internship project and wished to keep going even after my internship was completed.
What was a challenge you faced during your school leadership program, and who or what helped you overcome it?
A challenge I faced in my leadership program was learning how to manage my time more efficiently. I have always multi-tasked in my life: going to school and working throughout high school and college, teaching and holding a second job early in my career, and finally, teaching and being a first-time-mother…to twins, no less! I thought I could handle anything!
However, when this program started, I realized that I needed to improve my time management. I had to juggle being a teacher, a mother, a student, an intern, and a supporter of my kids’ activities simultaneously. It was quite tricky to maneuver. I learned that I cannot do it all to the best of my ability without asking for help. So, when I had classwork to do, I would call a babysitter to come play with my kids for a few hours so that I could work while I was at home knowing they were happy and being looked after. It was humbling at first to think that I couldn’t do it all, but then I realized I was doing it all! Asking for help wasn’t a sign of weakness, it was a strategy I needed to use in order to achieve my goals.
What was the biggest takeaway from your school leadership program?
My biggest takeaway from the educational leadership program was that I learned that I am a leader with a voice. I have always had strong opinions and thoughts about education, but I have held my ideas close to my vest so as not to rock the boat, but through this program I realized that what I have to say is important and needed to be heard by others. It was an epiphany when I understood that being a leader can make a difference, even in the smallest actions that one takes. Decisions that a leader makes are like throwing a rock into a pond; each decision has the ability to ripple through a school. So when making those decisions, it is important to always keep the students at the center of your decisions.
What would you tell (or what advice would you give) prospective students considering the M.A. school leadership degree program at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago?
If you are considering an educational leadership degree program at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago, I would highly recommend moving forward. The registration process, the speed of communication when I had questions, the talented and selfless professors, and the stellar education I received throughout this program left nothing to be desired. I truly feel this program was made with the life of a busy teacher in mind. I highly recommend choosing OAESA with Concordia University Chicago.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
My final thought for those considering a future at OAESA with Concordia University Chicago, I say take the plunge! I dragged my feet for a number of years vacillating between wanting to go to school and talking myself out of it by making excuses that I was too busy or there would be a better time to start. I realized in retrospect that there was never going to be a perfect time to start school. So, if you find you are in the same boat as me, just choose a time when you are prepared mentally to take on a huge challenge that has the possibility of changing your future and go! I wish I had taken the leap to return to school years prior to actually doing so!