There are many ways to achieve a high-paying job, but one of the most well known ways to further your education is getting your doctorate. Ms. Powell, who teaches Spanish l and ll, has recently gotten her doctorate – her credentials are now Dr. or Doctora Powell. Powell shares why she originally decided to move onto her graduate and what she learned from the experience.
“To be honest, I wanted to make more money, that was why I decided to do it,” Powell said. “But in the end I’m really glad I did it because I learned a lot about things that will help me be a better teacher.”
Higher education in general can be an emotionally, mentally, and physically taxing endeavor. Powell confirms that even more than physical stress, mental stress took its toll on her during the 4 year program.
“It was more the mental stress of it that was something I didn’t expect. I knew it would be a lot of work, but it was a lot of mental work too,” Powell said. “It was a lot of telling myself that I could do it, sticking with it even when I didn’t want to, a lot of work on not seeing myself as an imposter.”
The sense of accomplishment that follows getting a doctorate, or any degree in general, is an amazing feeling, but also can take a while to sink in.
“It feels kind of surreal, I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet. I thought, ‘if I could pull this off, it’ll feel so good’ but it’s not really real yet,” Powell said. “Maybe when things slow down and I actually have time after school then it’ll feel real.”
Powell also explains that the time commitment led to a lot of prioritizing, and she is now moving onto different priorities in her life.
“The time commitment was difficult,” Powell said. “I am exhausted and I am catching up on some things that I had put on the back burner.”
However, there were multiple helpful methods that Powell used during this strenuous time.
“I’ve always been one that does things the day before. I got this timer from Amazon and then I would time myself and I would try to do an hour or two every night,” Powell said. “The whole process was very daunting but if I could just focus on getting my hours in that was really helpful to me.”
It is equally important and helpful to have support from friends and family.
“I had a lot of support too from friends and family [and] my boyfriend. He encouraged me,” Powell said. “My parents would cook for me when I got really busy, things like that, which I really appreciate.”
