This learning journey began in 2008, thanks to a ph
one call from Dr. Etilvia Arjona
(Etty), who invited me to lunch with a group of edu
cators visiting Panama from Northwest
Missouri State University (NWMSU). The serendipity
of this invitation lead to a pathway for
learning and the accomplishment of another life goa
l. Etty, your passion for education inspires
me every day to raise my own bar on teaching and le
arning. Thank you for lunch... and for your
enthusiastic encouragement as I journeyed toward th
e finish line of my doctoral degree.
A special thanks to Dr. Joyce Piveral and Dr. Max R
uhl who invited me to participate as
a Ploghoft lecturer at NWMSU in 2009. While I was t
here, you introduced me to the Educational
Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) opportunity.
Thank you for inviting me to share my
story and for sharing ELPA with me. My life as a le
ader is truly transformed.
I sincerely acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Phillip Mes
sner, who told me on several
occasions that I was his best student. Thank you fo
r making me believe this, Dr. Messner. Your
wisdom, kindness and patience through the “static”
of my “SKYPE” calls were appreciated. I am
a better leader because of your influence. You have
made a difference in my life. Thank you.
A profound thanks to my co-advisor, Dr. Carol Edmon
ds, who tenaciously read through
my writing drafts while enduring a mega-workload ov
er the past few semesters. Thank you, for
taking the time to guide me to the next level, Dr.
Edmonds. I have enjoyed our conversations and
I am proud to be your student.
To my committee members, Dr. Melody Smith and Dr. R
ochelle Hiatt, thank you for
taking the time to guide me through the defense pro
cess. Your experiences have been invaluable
and I am grateful to have had you on my committee.
Thank you.
To my husband, Nick, thank you for encouraging me t
o run another marathon. I always
iii
knew you were there, curbside, yelling, “You go gir
l”! The sacrifices you made while I studied,
wrote, SKYPED [every Wednesday night for two years]
and traveled to and from Missouri (MO)
were unselfish and appreciated. Thank you for surpr
ising me with delicious snacks and salads
during my Wednesday night classes, Nico. I couldn’t
have done this without you!
Te amo...
To my brother, Pete, thanks for making my “back to
school” experience so convenient
and comfortable. Having a place to stay, a car to d
rive and an endless supply of veggies and Mr.
Goodcents sandwiches made “adult college life” grea
t! I truly appreciated the “together time”
we’ve been able to share over the past four years.
Thank you, Pete.
To my parents, Pete and Joan, and to my sister, Sus
an, thank you for always making a
special trip to MO from the East Coast when I was a
t school. Your support and encouragement
mean more than I could ever express in words. Thank
you for always being there!
To my children, Alex, Nyko and Christy, thank you f
or being patient when my routine
reply became, “Can’t, have class. Can’t, studying.
Can’t, writing”. Thank you for secretly
cheering me on! I was encouraged by the pride in yo
ur eyes and from the comments you posted
on Facebook, Christy, “My Mom is a Doctor”! Thanks
for believing in me.
To my in-laws, May and Alex, thank you for cheering
me on and asking very good
questions to stimulate my thinking. You have always
been a wonderful source of encouragement.
May, here’s to our next ProEd project! Thanks for e
verything.
To my best friend, Nan, you finished our 1998 marat
hon in NYC, 4-minutes earlier than I
did and our doctoral marathon 3-years before me. Th
ank you for leading the way, for setting the
pace, for believing that I could finish
both
marathons, and most of all for being my best frien
d.
Our YA-YA Weekend in Chumico is almost here! Thank
you Nanty.
Special thanks to my Summer Cohort, “A-2 Noodles”,
Vida, Carolyn, Scott and Paul.
iv
Thanks for teaching me how to be a student again. I
enjoyed learning with you. Also, thanks to
my Liberty-friends, Mary, Tammy, Eric, Stephen and
Stephanie. Thanks for helping me stay
connected during class time on Wednesdays. I apprec
iated your patience when technical
difficulties were beyond our control. I also apprec
iated our “happy hours” when I was on
campus. Thanks for that! Here’s to cheering you
all
on as you cross the ELPA finish line!
A BIG thanks to Mary and Tammy who took the time to
get me focused during Comps. I
totally enjoyed our Panera meetings! Warm thanks es
pecially to you, Mary for checking in
weekly while I was “learning home-alone”. Your outr
each was both comforting and appreciated.
Thank you for your collegial care and friendship, M
ary.
To my outstanding ProEd Team, sincere and heartfelt
thanks. Maria Antonietta (Mary),
you walked with me through the entire journey of th
is research. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you. Your collaboration and enthusiasm for learning
were inspiring. I could not have done this
without you.
A special thanks to Tina, Diana and Eda, your extra
time on task and unselfish efforts to
pick up the slack while I was buried in books and i
n my writing were truly appreciated. Thank
you, girls.
A big collegial shout out to the MIZZOU Summer IT f
or your wisdom and energy. My
skills are upgraded and refined because of your les
sons on leadership. Thank you.
And finally, but never least, to my circle of girlf
riends: Manal, thank you for sharing your
amazing research and for helping me see through the
lens of a constructivist paradigm to frame
my work. Your support was genuinely appreciated. To
Zeena, Donna and our eclectic girls’
happy hour group, thanks for your patience while I
was away on this learning journey.
Girls,
happy hour has officially started