Expressing Gratitude is a Powerful Part of the Educational Journey

Gratitude in education is more than a feeling. It is a practice that honor growth, community, and legacy. When we educate ourselves or participate in a formal education program we grow, develop, and become better versions of ourselves. These are all thing for which we should be thankful. When we participate in educational programs, we are examples to other members of our community. Often, our lives and experiences are goals for others. We may not notice these others, we may never speak to them. But, that does not change the fact that we are examples and role models to others in our communities. Our educational journeys and successes are important parts of our legacies. Those who come after us can climb higher because they have our shoulder upon which to stand. Our examples tell others that they can do what we have done.

I want to have a doctorate degree since I was about 9 years old and Julius “Dr. J” Irving came to the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. I did not want to be a medical doctor. I did want to be Dr. J. Years went by and I graduated from law school with a Juris Doctor degree. White that is a doctorate degree, I was not referred to as Dr. J. Years later, I earned an, Ed D. aka doctor of education. I reached my goal and was Dr. J. Family members referred to me as Dr. J squared acknowledging both doctorate level degrees. I was grateful to obtain the ED.D. and to officially become Dr. J.

While I was grateful, I was humbled by the weight of the accomplishment. I remembered the words of one of my dissertation advisors who told me that when one of us completed the journey and became a doctor, we had an obligation to reach back and help those behind us cross the finish line. My gratitude led me to reach out to other doctoral students and provide encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to help them move from dream to dream come true.

Completing My Doctorate: A Milestone of Endurance and Vision and a Reason for Gratitude

I stared my doctoral journey at the ripe old age of 55. At that time, it had been 26 years since I graduated from law school. I remember being nervous on the first day of class. I was afraid I would not be able to complete with the students in my cohort. Many of them were young enough to be my children! Part of the lesson in the first class had to do with imposter syndrome and ways to battle it and win. As I went through the program, I worked hard to do the reading, writing, and analysis required. I remember being amazed by one of my classmates who said she got all her work done by going to Starbucks every Sunday afternoon. I was amazed at what she was able to accomplish in such a short period of time. I was reading and writing for at least 4 hours a day Sunday through Saturday.

The doctoral journey was grueling, time consuming, and yet rewarding. The materials I was learning was new to me. This meant I was always interested in the work. The work was challenging and I looked forward to discussing my assignments with my peers, family members, and co-workers. I was blessed to have many great professors who encouraged me, supported me, and helped me to become a researcher and a scholar. There were challenges to overcome including the heavy reading load, the high level of writing required, and the politics of sometimes being in a position to criticize teachers and education in a room full of teachers and educators.

It was also challenging to meet the requirements of the program while being a wife and mother. When I began the program, I had two children in high school and one child who was working on a masters degree. Managing family time with school time was a challenge every semester. By nature, I am a qualitative researcher. I am motivated by the stories people tell about their experiences. One of my most challenging classes was quantitative research. In that class, it was all about numbers, manipulating them, analyzing them, and figuring out all their various meanings. In that class, there was not a story in sight. I struggled with the concepts and computer program used to analyze the numbers. In the end, I was able to get the work done and get an A in the class.

My doctoral program was two years and ten months in length. As I navigated my journey from the first scary days, through the end of formal classes, the comprehensive exam, proposal defense, and the dissertation defense I fell in love with research, writing papers, and presenting at conferences. I found purpose in doing research that made education better and more accessible for students. My dissertation research focused on how Black parents in affluent predominantly white school districts supported their children on their educational journeys. As a graduate assistant I researched and presented research on the experiences of Black Women Doctoral Students across the United States. I was sustained on the journey because I was able to research and write about things that interested me, were important in my community, and enabled me to help the world at large. At the end of my program, I received awards for research and scholarship, and advocacy. In addition, I was named outstanding graduate student. This was a major accomplishment considering there were 4 doctoral programs and 41 masters programs at the university. My commitment to education, research, and scholarship was deepened by the awards I won and obtaining my degree.

Gratitude for KSLA Presentation and Driving Research

Shortly after graduation, I learned that a presentation proposed by one of my dissertation advisors and I was selected for presentation at a state literacy conference. I was grateful for this opportunity. It was indeed humbling and exciting for an admired member of my dissertation committee to ask me to co-present with him. When I learned that our proposal was accepted for presentation, I was grateful for the opportunity. I was grateful for my committee member agreeing to present with me. This presentation will be about how parents both lower income and higher income parents support their children’s literacy. My portion of the paper is a subsection of my dissertation research. I felt grateful that a portion of my dissertation research could be used for another purpose and to reach a larger audience from across the state of Pennsylvania.

I was also grateful when my dissertation chairperson who was also my graduate assistant advisor asked me to drive a paper we were writing with two other teammates. Her faith in my ability to do this work was another experience that filled me with gratitude.

Gratitude for Founding of an Education Consulting Firm: Building a Platform for Change

In my work life before beginning my doctoral program, I had my own business consulting firm. Therefore it made sense to transition into educational consulting. The blog where you are reading this article is a division of the educational consulting firm. Two of my children had IEPs prior to attending college. One had learning challenge that the special education program helped them to overcome. The other had an IEP for gifted students. Years upon years of navigating these programs gave me a good understanding of the special education system in my state. Additionally, my experiences as an attorney and business consultant gave me the experience necessary to open a new consulting firm. Finally, the research, reading and classwork I did as a doctoral student gave me a great deal of information and knowledge that will be beneficial to my clients.

I am grateful to be able to use my lived, professional, and educational experiences have given me the ability to open an educational consulting firm. This firm will empower students to achieve academic success with expert guidance, mentoring, and personalized support. Whether the students are at the start of their educational journeys in grades K through 12, navigating college, or preparing for doctoral studies. I am grateful I am able to stand at the ready to serve.

Gratitude for My Dissertation as a Mentor Library Resource: Legacy in Action

It is important for me to help other students succeed on their doctoral journeys. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to do that by mentoring students at various stages of their doctoral journeys. Recently, I went back to my doctoral program to speak with students who had just finished their proposal defenses. When talking with a few of those students during a class break, I learned that two of them were using my dissertation as part of their mentor libraries. A mentor library is a list of resources such as journal articles and dissertations. I was humbled and grateful to those students who selected my dissertation to be part of their mentor libraries.

It is important for doctoral students to have sample dissertations and journal articles to use as exemplars. Learning that two students have selected my dissertation to be part of their mentor libraries made me feel grateful. The students’ choice to use my dissertation as part of their mentor libraries was a significant one. That choice meant that my work was a worthy example. That choice is a compliment for which I am grateful. I was grateful to my dissertation committee who helped me to produce a quality dissertation.

Gratitude for Winning a Grant to Launch a For-Credit Internship Program

A final thing for which I am grateful for in my educational practice is the fact that I won a grant to help pay for expenses associated with me launching a for-credit internship program for college students. I am the director of our community food pantry. It has been my desire to create an internship program through which our pantry can partner with local colleges to give students an opportunity to work with our pantry and receive college credit. This program will enable students from various disciplines to work together to accomplish projects on behalf of the food pantry. This initiative aligns perfectly with my commitment to practical, equity-centered educational opportunities. It is an exciting venture and I am grateful to have received funding to help more the project from dream to reality.

Conclusion

Expressing my gratitude are an essential part of my educational practice. I indeed have a lot for which to be grateful. Over the past three years I have done interesting research, presented my work at a variety of conferences, and learned a great deal in classes. I won awards for research, scholarship, and advocacy. I was even named my university’s outstanding graduate student! Since graduation in May of 2025, my proposal for a conference presentation has been accepted and I have started an educational consulting firm. I have had many more wonderful opportunities, too many to share here. I am grateful for it all. I encourage my fellow educators who are reading these words to take time now to share their feelings of gratitude and appreciation for their educational journeys. Think about where you started and where you are now. Write about your appreciation for all the steps along the way. There are countless others who are waiting to hear your words and to be inspired by your story. You will be glad you did!