Talking Stick - March/April 2016 - 57

Larry Faerman at Florida Atlantic
University in Boca Raton; Jenna
Hyatt, the director of residence
life and new student programs at
Central Washington University in
Ellenburg; Paul Jahr, retired associate
vice president for student affairs at
Georgia College & State University in
Milledgeville; Krystal Lee, the assistant
director of academic enrichment at
Morgan State University in Baltimore,
Maryland; Kyle R. McCracken, a
coordinator of residence life at Texas
A&M University in College Station;
Kevin Michael Meaney, director of
residence life at James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, Virginia;
Anne Stark, director of residence life
and education at the University of
Central Florida in Orlando; Shannon
Staten, the executive director of
university housing at the Florida
State University in Tallahassee; and
Christopher Tankersley, assistant
director of residential faccilities at Kent
State University in Ohio.
Talking Stick: What was the epiphany
that propelled you to pursue a terminal
degree?

James C. Smith: It was something that
I always wanted to do. I had actually
wanted to pursue an Ed.D. or Ph.D.
right after my master's program but
was often advised that I would need
more work experience. Twelve years
later I felt the time was right to move
forward and earn the degree.

Kevin Michael Meaney: As I moved
up the career ladder in residence life, I
felt like I was missing a connection to
the bigger picture in higher education.
So much of what we do to improve
ourselves focuses on learning more
about our field and working with other
housing and res life colleagues. But it's

hard to find time to discuss national
issues that impact all colleges and
universities. I really wanted to have an
opportunity to explore some of these
issues in depth.

Anne Stark: As a first-generation
student, college was not a guarantee
for me. Once I made it through my
master's degree, I knew I was going
to make it to the top and complete a
terminal degree. Like Kevin mentioned,
I was told to wait a bit after the master's
and gain a few years of experience
before starting the terminal degree.

Shannon Staten: I always wanted
to complete a doctorate degree. My
husband had completed his, so he has
been my supporter and motivation as
well. I decided to wait until my children
were in high school and college to
start my degree because I felt like I
was already away from them a lot with
the job. By the time I decided to start
the degree, I was 50 years old and had
been a professional in the field for 27
years. I wasn't doing it to become a vice
president or higher administrator but
wanted to get back into the theory of
what we do and why.

Kyle R. McCracken: I knew while I
was working on my master's what I
hoped my career trajectory to be. I'm
a first-generation college student,
so while I value the formal learning
process, it is very daunting to me. I
knew I wanted to work full time before
going back, so I had planned on it
being a consideration as part of my
second job search. So I suppose you can
say that my master's program was my
epiphany indirectly.
Jenna Hyatt: I designed my
undergraduate degree in university
administration. I have always operated
on the fact that my educational plans
would commence with a doctorate in

higher education. In addition, I had a
colleague that encouraged me to apply
when they did so we could go through
the program together.

Krystal Lee: I grew up in Jamaica
in a family that valued learning and
education. Going to college was a given,
and my parents encouraged me to keep
my options open by considering an
education in the U.S. They sacrificed
to send me to SAT classes taught by a
gentleman who had a doctoral degree
in physics. This blew my mind. It had
never occurred to me that you could
be a doctor without being a medical
doctor. It took me another seven years
to figure it out, but I decided on student
affairs so that I could support students
throughout their college experience.
Christopher Tankersley: It was a
combination of three things. First, I
truly enjoy learning and had a desire
to pursue a terminal degree. Second,
education has always been very
important in my family and highly
encouraged, so I think I knew from an
early age I would do this and just did
not know in what field until later in life.
Finally, my supervisor at the time talked
with me a lot about getting my Ph.D.
She was an incredible mentor to me
and someone I highly respected then
and now.

Paul Jahr: It was an unexpected
opportunity to make a job move to a
location that afforded me the opportunity
to pursue my doctorate. The interest
was motivated primarily for the personal
experience and not for professional
advancement reasons. I was already at
the director level and had experience
working at five institutions. I enjoy
promoting learning for myself, my staff,
and the students whom I served, and I
felt I could do a better job in those areas
as a result of the doctoral experience.

MARCH + APRIL 2016

57
Talking Stick - March/April 2016

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