Career Application Essay

Background As a veteran educator with nearly fifteen years in the profession, there are many experiences that have contributed to my commitment to rural education and to rural communities. I have served as a teacher, instructional leader, school counselor, and school administrator in a rural school and community for most of my career. Each of these positions has allowed me to see the unique needs of rural schools from many different perspectives. As a classroom teacher and instructional leader, my experiences allowed me to examine the needs of students in a rural setting on an academically individualized level. Becoming a school counselor in a rural school and community allowed me the experience of focusing on the mental health needs that

As an undergraduate student at Ole Miss and then Mississippi State University, I studied Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies, adding an English endorsement later in my undergraduate education. In my fifth year as a classroom teacher, I began my postgraduate studies at William Carey University with a cohort of educators. I received a masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Secondary Education. In my seventh year as a classroom teacher, I embarked on the journey to earn a specialist's degree in Instructional Leadership from William Carey with the intention to become a school leader. However, I did not feel that being a school leader at that moment in my career was the best fit for me professionally. Therefore, I enrolled in a second master’s degree program at The University of West Alabama to become a school counselor in 2019. Though my role has changed, being out of the classroom has allowed me to have a much different perspective on the needs of my students and my school. I have decided that earning my doctoral degree will allow me to continue to grow as a professional educator and continue assisting my students in reaching

These areas interest me because they are relevant issues that I find in my career as an educator. In each of the roles I have served, I have found that all three of these interests are relevant and underdeveloped in their research and implementation. Education is constantly shifting; however, the areas of student transitions, curriculum shifts through technology, and organizational changes are not changing as quickly as the needs in those areas are being