Occasionally I get some emails or questions from other school counselors asking for advice in pursuing a doctoral degree and I have no idea how to respond. The only school I'm currently attending is the school where I work. I recruited Julia V. Taylor, a former school counselor to chime in on what it's like to take the Ph.D route.
Give a little
background about your school counseling experience. How long you were a
school counselor? What grade levels did you work in?
I was a school counselor for a decade before I decided to pursue a PhD in
Counselor Education. I began my career as a high school counselor, then
moved to a middle school, then I switched back to the high school
level. After a few years, I went to central office for a year to help
build a 6-12 public girls' school and stayed a year after it opened.
What did you like about being a school counselor?
That's difficult to answer - I'm a huge fan of the profession. School
counselors change lives; they make a difference and have a lot of
influence. I think the profession is still an undiscovered gem in
education, but that is rapidly changing. I loved the school part of
school counseling. I liked working in a school, being on a team, and
being surrounded by people everyday. I enjoyed watching students grow. I
was fortunate to follow a group of students from 6th to 8th grade, then
a position opened up at the high school most of them were slated to
attend. I interviewed, got the job, and followed them there. When those
students were beginning their junior year, I was presented with an
opportunity to be on the founding leadership team of the girls' school. I
was over-the-moon thrilled (dream job!) to do this, but I was also
devastated to leave that particular group of students. Two years later,
the highlight of my entire career was watching the Apex High School
Class of 2013 graduate. Coincidentally, their graduation day happened to
be on my last day of employment in WCPSS. I cried the entire ceremony, I
was so proud of them. It was the absolute perfect ending.
What sparked your interest to pursue a doctoral degree?
My interest in pursuing a doctoral degree was piqued a long time ago and
grew over the years. My advisor in my Master's program, Dr. Tammy
Davis, had a decade of experience as a practicing school counselor. She
was completely transparent and taught us the realities of the field. Her
stories were real and her passion was contagious. I remember thinking
"I'll do this for a decade and follow her steps." I'm not sure how
calculated those thoughts were at the time, but throughout the years I
became increasingly interested in education reform, school counseling
leadership, and the science of the field. I'm an information monster and
I want to know the hows and whys of everything. I want to learn how to
read, write, interpret, and critique research. I want to learn how to
think about my thoughts. And I want to be able to back up my many
opinions with research/data. With all of that said, I want to teach
graduate students and I have to have this degree to do so.
Why did you choose Virginia Commonwealth University?
I spoke at VCU a few years ago and met the Counselor Education
Department Chair, Dr. Mary Hermann. She informed me that they were in
the process of creating a doctoral program and said she'd keep me
updated. Fast forward a year, I began searching for schools and talked
to different counselor education programs. The programs and people were
great, but this was a big decision and I needed to listen to my head and
my heart for this one. I was grappling with my next steps when Dr.
Hermann emailed me to say VCU was moving forward with the PhD program if
I was interested in applying. We spoke the next day and the rest is
history. There was almost no hesitation. I just had this strange feeling
that I needed to be there, so I put my application together and hoped
for the best.
What has been your biggest adjustment in being back in school?
Oh, there are many. First, hovering above all of the adjustments over
the past year is a healthy level of impostor syndrome. I'm not convinced
it ever goes away. What else? If you would have asked me this in my
first semester I would have said I missed students, my work is graded
(augh), and time management. The spring semester was all about the
"professional identity" stuff I read about but thought I was entirely
too tough/cool/grounded for. Turns out, I'm not. I am a student who was a
practicing school counselor and will hopefully be a counselor
educator. The in-between is a moderately terrifying place to be. This
whole PhD experience is humbling, as in every single day humbling.
Lastly, the atmosphere of academia is a lot different than the
atmosphere in a public school. I have a giant, quirky personality and am still
adjusting to toning it down. I was always the one who would organize
surprise (and wildly embarrassing) faculty skits at student talent
shows, was the official Office Olympics Coordinator on teacher workdays,
and I don't have a great indoor voice. There are no office olympics in
academia (yet) and it's very quiet, so very quiet. However, adjustments
are just that, they keep things interesting.
What's something that you've enjoyed about your doctoral program? The Counselor Education faculty at VCU is top-notch. They are driven,
exemplary role models, and unbelievably supportive. I've had the
opportunity to teach a technology class specifically for school
counselors and co-teach a few other classes. I have always loved
writing, so I have enjoyed being able to do that on another level.
Another thing I really like about VCU's program is that it's under the
School of Education umbrella, so I also take education leadership
classes. I actually looked into education leadership doc programs at
one time in my life, so this is truly the best of both worlds.
What advice would you give to a school counselor thinking of pursuing a doctoral degree in counselor education?
There
are a lot of logistical things to think about: full or part-time? What
type of program? What are your goals? Are you willing to move? Most
importantly, are you ready? You have to make sure it's what you want to
do and give yourself some time to figure out who you are. I don't
believe there is a magic number of years of experience you should have -
it's more about goals, confidence, and drive. In fact, some of the
best counselor educators I know haven't worked in a school. For me, my
experiences in the field helped me develop a strong professional
identity and figure out who I was and what I wanted, but that's just me.
So, if you're in the trenches and this is something you one day hope to
do, I recommend you switch schools, switch levels, learn from different
colleagues and administration, lead, and don't lose sight of your long
term goal. There will never be a perfect time to make an enormous life
change. If you're ready and able, you just have to do it. Like the John
Burroughs quote, "Leap and the net will appear."
Lastly,
former VSCA President and Old Dominion University Doctoral Candidate,
Tracy Jackson, beautifully summed up this process in one concise quote.
She said "I
don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's not hard, but it's not easy. I
wouldn't persuade you, but I wouldn't dissuade you either. It is what
it is; it's the Ph.D. experience." Well said Jackson, well said.
Julia V. Taylor
Julia is a Doctoral Student at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of The Body Image Workbook for Teens, The Bullying Workbook for Teens, Perfectly You, G.I.R.L.S. (Girls in Real Life Situations), and Salvaging Sisterhood. Visit her online at www.juliavtaylor.com
Thanks Julia!
