NESSA’S NOTIONS: How Did I Get Here?
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By VANESSA W. SNYDER
I did not set out to get a doctorate. I really was just trying to get credentials to become a school administrator. As a teacher, I loved the impact I had in my classroom, but slowly and steadily over the years I found my reach growing beyond those four walls.
By the time I discovered my desire to move into administration, I tried to find the quickest way to make it happen. Within about a year or so, I was credentialed through an Educational Specialist degree program (that included credits that could count toward a doctorate). I figured, ‘why not?’, and started working on a doctorate. (Not sure what I was thinking).
Again, how did I get here?
You may have a similar story. Most of us likely start out with a plan, but then end up somewhere else. Often, the somewhere else is where we are supposed to be.
I was a journalist, a teacher, and then an administrator.
As I continue to become intimately acquainted with APA style, peer-reviewed articles, educational leadership theories, academic writing, research design, and the like, I still ask myself, how did I get here?
But then I realize I got here because this is where I was always going. Somewhere along the way, I surrendered to the plan that was already set before me. The plan I couldn’t have designed if I tried. Only God could’ve thought this up.
No matter how you got to where you are, recognize you are where you are supposed to be. Because this is where you were always going.
I would love to hear how you got where you’re supposed to be. I hope you will share.
Peace and blessings.
— A former journalist currently working on her doctorate in Social Emotional Learning, Vanessa is a dedicated and passionate educator in the DC Public Schools system. She loves learning, innovation, team building, collaboration, and discovering new ways to drive student gains and support staff members.
