You’ve finished your master’s degree in whatever subject focused in whatever content for whatever job, but you want more. You want something seemingly unattainable. You want to enter a new world, a new wonderland—you want your terminal degree.

You are not alone. People from all professions seek the next scene in their personal education book, but why? Why chase that bunny rabbit with the waistcoat and pocket watch? Do you become big enough to reach the key but too big to use the door? Or do you find yourself swimming in the deep end only to be saved by a mere mouse?

Our journeys to our terminal degrees are so different from one another. Still, they all revolve around the theme of self-improvement—growing up, finding a way to represent yourself and your beliefs further.

But one must remember, that an Ed.D. is not just for educators. In my time at Point Park University, I was privileged to meet many different people outside of education who were all pursuing the same degree. I met restaurateurs, heads of non-profits, religious leaders, theater people, and many more as we all chased down the same elusive hare, this time with a velvet tam.

That said, as an educator, mainly in the realm of secondary pedagogy, I saw it as a challenge, a goal. If I was going to have two master’s degrees, why would I limit myself there? I wanted the final challenge. I wanted “The Doctorate.” I wanted to become Dr. Nick.

We can talk about the career advancement and salary raises from the prologue until the end of the final chapter. Ultimately, what a doctoral program, the Ed.D. in Leadership and Administration from Point Park University, gave me is the intangibles.

What I Learned in an Ed.D. Program

First, there is the content knowledge. If you want to be a “total leader”, Point Park University’s Ed.D. program covers what it means to be a true leader to yourself. The motto of “who you are is how you lead” is not only present but a participating member in all discussions throughout the classes and dissertation process at Point Park.

This program offers insight that is internally reflective in terms of how you view your leadership and how it grows, and it is externally reflective in how others see you as a leader. The knowledge learned is the knowledge earned here.

What you put into the program is what you receive from the program, so working with the professors, all of whom have extensive experience, to build relationships and foster your own growth will enable you to maximize your learning in the Ed.D. program. While this was a leadership and administrative program, it also offered real-world situational examples and comparisons, making one’s day-to-day job tasks relatable and topical to the content covered.

Advantages of a Doctorate Degree

Part of building your content knowledge is also building your personal confidence. Expanding your knowledge base makes you more apt to interact confidently in different situations. As a Point Park University “total leader”, you can begin to foster relationships in your organization through your confidence in handling and managing of different experiences.

The knowledge that is earned from both the curriculum and the professors enables the Ed.D. student and future graduate to have the confidence that they are prepared for almost any situation in their journey as a leader. That said, if there is something known, a “total leader” is not afraid to reach out and ask. This program gives you the confidence to do so.

Lastly, the educational doctorate program at Point Park University offers you the ability to network. As a proud member of Point Park’s Ed.D. Cohort Eight, or “Coho Ocho” (as we called ourselves) it is invaluable that you form positive relationships with your cohort members. These will most likely be friends and confidants for the remainder of your career.

You will lean on them, laugh with them, probably cry with them, and definitely eat cookies with them in your time at Point Park, and these relationships will build your network greater than you can imagine.

Nearly four years from the onset of our program, we still have a text message thread that spans career advice, daily troubleshooting, random memes and gifs, and dissertation support, among many other topics. To say that the Ed.D. program offers you a network is probably an underserving of the program.

Whether you are coming to the Ed.D. degree program for knowledge, confidence, networking, or some combination of the three, you must remember that Point Park is offering you a chance to go down that rabbit hole, to learn about yourself, and to explore who you are as a person. Upon earning that doctorate in education, you will wake up from that dream and realize that it is a reality that you now have that terminal degree.

Ready to advance your career with a graduate degree? Check out our available masters, doctorates, and more!

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Why did you want to work in education? What inspired you?

My first teaching certification is in communications. For undergrad, I pursued my degree in Media and Professional Communications and I worked in radio, television, and film. Upon graduation, I was brainstorming what to do with my career and how I ended up in college for broadcasting, and I realized that I wanted to teach media. I missed the opportunity to study media in high school, and I wanted to pursue the avenue to teach that subject. My inspiration came from my undergraduate professors who showed me what media educators can do and can be.

Why did you choose Point Park University for your doctorate?

Having completed my principal’s certification at Point Park, I was familiar with some of the faculty and the school in general. I wanted to pursue a terminal degree in either communications or leadership, and I ended up choosing leadership at Point Park after looking at several Pittsburgh-area schools. At PPU, I was able to study leadership communication. Point Park and my wonderful dissertation committee headed by Dr. Helen C. Sobehart enabled me to combine my two passions and assess followers’ perceptions of their leader’s nonverbal communication.

What skills did you gain or sharpen through your program at Point Park University and how do you use them today?

Point Park enabled me to explore. This was something that I wanted. I was able to find myself as a leader and identify my strengths in authentic leadership and harness those as well as improve on my many weaknesses. Being exposed to so many leaders in and out of the education field enabled me to find many different dimensions and layers to my own situational leadership style. As I prepare to hopefully move into school leadership, I use these in my preparations for future jobs as well as in my current job where I serve as a special education teacher and Team Lead of our school’s School Wide Positive Behavior Support team.

How has your doctorate impacted you in terms of your current position or a position you’d like to attain in the future?

Earning a doctorate has afforded me the opportunity to better understand people. It opened my eyes to the different types of leaders and followers that exist, and it has helped me work better with the adults and the students with whom I work. We, as a school, are such an interconnected web that we must understand or attempt to understand all of the points of view that exist, and that is what a doctorate has provided me in my current position. In any future position, I hope to use my doctorate to help lead a school one day. That said, I recognize that, like a good family recipe, we can always add more layers, so my terminal degree is just the beginning of my learning.

What was a challenge you faced during your doctorate program, and who or what helped you overcome it?

One of my biggest challenges was at the beginning of the program and dealing with the feeling of validity. I was one of the younger members of my cohort with many seasoned, top-notch leaders running alongside of me. It is a marathon, and we all needed each other to succeed in the program, and I could not have picked a better group of humans with which to work. When I needed to be pushed a certain way, I was pushed. When I needed to be supported, I was supported. It truly was a cohort model, and we were constantly drafting off of one another until we reached the finish line.

What was the biggest takeaway from your doctoral program?

“All Kids Can” has been my motto for years as a teacher, and it was not until halfway through my doctoral program that I realized that it should read “All People Can.” There are many underdeveloped traits in people with great potential, and as leaders, it is our job to help people realize their strengths and to help them reach their potential. We must set realistic, high expectations for our followers, and if we do, we will not be disappointed.

What would you tell (or what advice would you give) prospective students considering a doctoral degree program at Point Park University?

Go for it. You will not be disappointed. Be prepared to be challenged. Be prepared to learn something new. Be prepared for the highs and lows of a mountain range full of experiences. You will be supported and cared for, but you will not be coddled. You will find mentors and friends for life. These people will be there for you in the moment and in the future. You will learn that there is so much untapped potential in every single encounter of your daily life.

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