Conclusion

As my MEd journey draws to a close, I feel strong, proud and permanently changed in how I see myself both personally and professionally.  When I began this program, my ambitions for doing so were somewhat short sighted, as they were very much centered around my current employer.  For several years I had thought and dreamt about pursuing my MEd, but just never put the wheels in motion…until I felt like I had hit a ‘breaking point’ in my role at the time shortly after a top-down decision was made to state that all ‘Managers’ had to have their Master degree.  I cannot say that my professional dream was ever to ‘be a manager’, but  I remember feeling ‘trapped’ in my career and had a strong sense that my skillsets were being under utilized; I knew there had to be more (professionally) and so I used that feeling of discontent mixed with optimism to set me on a new path.  I applied for tuition reimbursement through the postsecondary institution I work for and, as it turned out, I was denied.  I was told that because the role I was in at the time did not require a Master degree, that my request for funding could not be approved (which I found extremely puzzling because this funding for ‘tuition reimbursement’ was widely touted).  Needless to say, this left me feeling incredibly disenchanted with my employer, however (luckily) I had already made my mind up that I was going to pursue my MEd with or without their help and so a few months later, in the Fall of 2018, I started my first course.

Now, I am (finally) completing what I set out to do – on time as well, as my initial learning goal was to finish everything by Winter of 2022.  On top of that, I have also achieved the greater career mobility that I had so long desired, as I was recently hired as the new Manager, Financial Aid & Awards and I believe that being able to state on my resume that I am nearing completion of my MEd is part of what helped me get there, in part because my organization places a lot of value on possessing a Master degree, but perhaps even more so because of the growth in professional mindset I have experienced throughout my studies.

This program itself has shaped me in very personal ways, but the trajectory of my studies have also been largely shaped by events of my personal life.  When I began the MEd (ODDE) program, I was single person.  As I type this, I’m still ‘me’…but I’m also “mom” to a very special little girl.  My initial plan was pursue the thesis route but after learning that I was pregnant I decided to change my plan and pursue the course based route, as I just couldn’t fathom entering into thesis research while having a newborn baby.  It was a tough decision to make, but I took comfort in knowing that the course based route would only allow me the room to take additional electives and further expand my knowledge base.   

Other cognitive shifts which I experienced throughout the duration of my studies in the MEd (ODDE) program include my identification as a feminist.  As I detailed in Artifact 2 – Feminist Realities: Living, Learning & Working in a Man’s World, MDDE651 was the first and only formal course on the topic of gender which I have ever taken and I must say, it was mind blowing to me.  At the risk of sounding oblivious, I had never stopped and contemplated the heavily masculine influence of the world around me, at least not seriously.  This course taught me the value and importance of feminism in everyday life – in policies, in government, in thought processes.  This course essentially tapped into an area of my brain that was largely untapped beforehand and has helped me to experience the world around me and everything in it – my outlook on life; my relationships, my conversations, the books I read, etc., - with a broadened sense of openness, understanding, empathy, and sensitivity – all of which are inherent values of feminism and feminist theory.

Another cognitive shift I experienced during my studies was the notion of what It means to be an ‘educator’.  In one of my reflections I talked about the fact that I often perceived myself to be the ‘only one in the class’ who was not employed in an educator role.  I suppose in some ways one might even go so far as to say that I was experiencing ‘imposter syndrome’, and I had to work very hard to overcome these thoughts.  One of the courses which played a big role in helping me do so was MDDE 612 – Experiential Learning, as this is where I was introduced to various educator role profiles and began to realize that while I wasn’t a teacher (in the traditional sense), other words such as ‘coach’, ‘facilitator’, ‘subject matter expert’ could also be used to fulfill that role in the teaching/learning context, and more importantly that I embody elements of all of those things both personally and professionally.  This new understanding and perspective of self as ‘educator’ galvanized my spirit, giving me the boost of energy I so greatly needed at what was approximately the midpoint of my MEd journey to push forward and achieve my academic goals.

Of the four learning goals I listed in my introduction, I achieved two – career mobility and a Winter 2022 end date.  The other two - becoming an expert in ID and completing a thesis – remained deliberately unfulfilled simply because I made choices which altered my path.  However, I prefer to look at it as a trade rather than an unmet goal; I traded in those two learning goals in exchange for other, different but equally valuable experiences, for which I have absolutely no regrets.  In fact, as I went along I even added a goal – which was to get ‘straight A’s’ throughout the program (in my books, an A- is just as good as an A).  Traditionally I’ve always had good grades, but I’ve never considered myself to be a straight A student, nor have I desired to put that kind of pressure on myself.  Why I decided to put that pressure on myself in my Master degree program, I don’t know…but I feel accomplished and it’s kind of fun to be able to say that I achieved that!

I pride myself on being a continuous learner, so as for where I am headed next…I have my sights set on a couple of things…Change Management Professional is certainly something that I have my eyes on, or Project Management….or perhaps both, eventually. That being said, I have been going solid since Fall 2018.  I’ve taken one course per term but also worked full time the entire duration of studies, commuted long hours, and even had a baby! I believe I will take a break for a few months to enjoy some regained time to myself, spend my evenings focusing solely on life with my little family, and just relishing in knowing that I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve.