I am so happy that I was able to capture these photos. One of the things I haven't had a chance to share here is the completion of my doctorate and what it meant to our family. As most people know, I had the wonderful opportunity to complete my doctorate of education at Western University 2013-2016.
Our program consisted of 10 courses and a full dissertation. I was happy to complete the research and publish my dissertation August 2016. When you publish your work you get it printed in these bound books and then you keep one and provide one to your supervision team that helps you through the whole program. I had one printed and gave it to Dr. Pam Bishop my team leader and I also got one printed for my parents.
The day they were ready to be picked up from graphic services, I drove right to my parents house and presented it to my dad (my mom wasn't home). This photo of my dad and his hands holding this book is such a proud moment for me.
My parents were a big inspiration for this work because my parents always encouraged my thinking about educational leadership. My dad would suggest books, articles, and was fascinated about my experiences as a principal.
What a lot of people don't know is that my dad just missed out on completing his own PhD. He attended the University of Michigan in the early 70s and had completed a couple of years of courses and work. Unfortunately, at the end of his second year his adviser died and hadn't kept any records therefore, my dad lost all his work. Never having an opportunity to finish, I felt my experience would help heal the feelings I know he has about his work being incomplete. We often talk about his experience and how much work it was pre computers. Proud moment sharing the printed research for sure.
