From Pedagogy to Leadership
When I first entered the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University, my original goals were to increase my knowledge of education pedagogy, learn new teaching strategies, and develop leadership skills. I wanted to become a better teacher and provide greater services to my
students and district amidst a pandemic.
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My goals have changed since I began the program. I started a new position in a new district where I am taking on more leadership roles in my school. As a physical education teacher, I saw fit for my primary concentration to be sports coaching and leadership. As I took on more leadership roles within my new district such as developing a phys ed. curriculum that is more inclusive and mentoring and collaborating with other teachers, I am now focused on how I can use my education to move into more leadership roles. In time, my primary concentration changed to P-12 school and postsecondary leadership.
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While having little interest in becoming a school administrator, this shift in focus, along with my passion for athletics, has led me to refine my academic and professional goals. Being able to leverage my knowledge and skills into something I have experience with while still leading by example has led me to
advancing a career as an athletic director. On top of exciting new opportunities within my new district, the coursework that I have taken here at Michigan State has also led me to evolve my practices. Courses such as Legal/Admn Issues of Coaching has provided me with essential knowledge and resources required to navigate through the complexities
of sports law in ways I haven’t considered before.
Another being Promoting Pos Yth Dev/Sport which deepened my understanding of the well-being of the athlete and move away from skill based, athletic performance. This is not to entirely say I don’t have remnants of my original goals that I submitted to the program, I recall upon writing that I wanted to rebuild my districts physical education program and curriculum. Upon leaving my old district for new opportunities, I built a curriculum for phys. ed. and started the base of the rebuild where future teachers can expand upon. I am now thinking big picture and rebuilding an entire athletic program and reworking its management plans.
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The MAED program has empowered me to embrace a broader vision and establish more ambitious goals for myself. My transformation from a phys. ed. teacher to aspirations of an athletic landscape is a testament to the quality of education I’ve received in this school. As I embark on this new chapter and ambition of mine, I will remember how Michigan State helped me get to where I want to be.
Growth Beyond the Gym
When first applying for the MAED program at Michigan State, I was eager to concentrate on sports coaching and leadership to become a better phys ed. teacher. My passion for sports now extends far beyond the classroom (or gymnasium). My future goal and plan is to advance from a phys. ed. teacher to an athletic director. As a phys. ed. teacher, I was able to witness firsthand the positive impact PE had on my students and I wanted to expand upon my knowledge and skills in a larger scale.
To prepare myself for this new and exciting challenge, I have identified three areas of study that will help me excel as an athletic director after careful thought. These are: positive youth development, legal and administrative issues, and effective budgeting in sports programs.
It helped taking an entire course on positive youth development with Dr. Jennifer Roth in the fall of ’22. PYD goes beyond the scoreboard and into the well-being of the student athlete. It’s practice and philosophy recognizes the strengths of individuals and their inherit potential. Other areas of PYD include positive relationships and opportunities for engagement. There is a strong correlation between supportive adults/teammates and student athlete success. There is also a case to be said that presenting said student athletes with opportunities such as experiencing different sports and community service can help them explore other areas of interests.
In order to foster this positive youth development into creating a program that goes beyond winning games, I will be earning a certificate from Positive Coaching Alliance where winning happens off the field as well. More information about the Positive Coaching Alliance and their programs offered can be found by clicking HERE.
My second area of study/focus involves the legal and administrative side of sports. Again, Michigan State has some very unique classes where I was able to take just that with Dr. Breske. Navigating the legal landscape and regulations of sports is complex enough, having someone who understands due process, eligibility requirements, and ensuring safe operations someone I aspire to be. I recall this class being the fire that ignited my interest in athletic directing, on one of my very first assignments with Dr. Breske, I was tasked with creating a month-to-month risk management plan for a school program. It turns out that my former district didn’t have a risk management plan in the scope of what was required outside of basic safety protocols and policies. When presenting this information to my former administrators, I was commended for taking the initiative to put the well-being of my students and school first. This was the first time I felt like I could make a bigger difference outside the classroom.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the legality of operations in sports programs, I plan to familiarize myself with the administrator side of MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association). Here I can access health and safety resources such as physicals, update information, and learn more about regulation summaries.
Lastly, I think the budgeting and financial aspects of a sports program often go under looked when it comes to newer or aspiring athletic directors. I want to set myself from the crowd when applying for positions by demonstrating that I am able to secure funding, manage budgets, and allocate resources effectively. I believe in the importance of being responsible with finances and to do that I aim to enroll in a finance course offered through Michigan Virtual. While it is more so tailored towards personal finances, I can still learn ways to leverage that into a whole picture while also earning SCECH credits.
In conclusion, each of these areas of study support the bigger picture in what makes a good athletic director. And while this is just the beginning and I have so much more to learn, it’s a start. I am excited for the opportunities to be present for me upon completion of my program and being able to represent Michigan State as an alumni.
Unmasked Resilience
I began my master’s program right after lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to invest in my future to create greater job security and deepen my knowledge of education during times of uncertainty. I ultimately decided on Michigan State University as the world was going digital and their online MAED program was ranked top 10 in the nation. Three years later, with just two weeks left from completing my program, I reflect upon the entirety of my experiences here.
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I still remember the day I got the mail that I was accepted at Michigan State. I had to wipe down the letter with disinfectant wipes right after wiping my own tears. It has always been a dream of mine to go to graduate school in a big school, I was never the best of students in a traditional sense but the isolation from the pandemic gave me courage to take on a new challenge. It was during this time that I was employed as a physical education teacher. While selecting concentrations, it was a no brainer for me to choose sports coaching and leadership as my primary as it would fall naturally in my profession. As time went by and my confidence and mental health started to improve, I started developing a stronger interest in leadership.
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It all started in the spring of 2021 with Dr. Breske in KIN 854: Legal/Admn Issues of Coaching. As a phys. ed. teacher, my days were filled with whistles and the infectious energy of my students. This was right around the time we started returning to school fulltime, and while I loved seeing my kids play with others, I felt a nagging concern beneath the surface in terms of safety. It just so happened that I would be enrolling in a course dealing with the legality side of sports during the same semester. Little did I know, this single course would jump start my transformation on how I approached my job and my understanding of responsibilities.
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Prior to KIN 854, my awareness was limited to basic safety protocols and understanding district policies. However this course opened my eyes to the world of regulations, liabilities, and concerns. Topics such as negligence and duty of care made me approach every activity with a heightened sense of awareness for my actions. One of our first assignments involved creating a month-month risk management plan. A risk management plan is exactly what the name sounds like, a legal document where protocol is in place to mitigate and navigate through potential risks and liabilities. Upon completion of the assignment, I looked into our district’s own risk management plan for physical education and to my surprise there wasn’t one. I presented my findings to my district and for the first time in my career I really felt like I could be the change.
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From then, I gained valuable insight on the behind the scenes operations of sports such as equipment/faculty management, eligibility requirements, and monitoring progress. This newfound knowledge empowered me to engage more effectively with my administrators in a PE setting and advocate for my students with confidence. This said confidence was further demonstrated when interviewing into a new school district where my now administration team
immediately recognized my knowledge of sports law and which made me approach my job with a renewed sense of purpose.
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By now we are in the fall of 2022, I have been in my new district for a full year teaching phys ed. to grades K-6. In this semester, I enrolled in KIN 857: Promoting Pos Yth Dev/Sport with Dr. Jennifer Roth. Prior to this course, I was very set on my pursuits for change, this course made me realize I don’t have to do it alone. It was a very collaborated style course where we engaged in lots in regular discussions and partner based projects. As the name of the course implied, I was introduced to the powerful positive youth development model which empowers youth to reach their full potential in life and in their communities. My main focus of instruction revolved around skill development and performance. However, it lacked a framework for life skills such as communication and even something I talk about a lot in this paper, leadership.
With this new collaboration style approach, my classmates and I were able to design our own PYD program. This ignited a lot of creativity in me to think beyond my traditional methods of teaching/coaching. We created a program where using sport, fostered a sense of community and belonging. One such example was the Detroit Police Academy League which serves underrepresented communities through sport. I was able to broaden my sense of sport and apply it into social challenges.
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KIN 857 not only transformed my coaching philosophy, but it gave me a new perspective on what it means to be a leader in athletics. It created a desire in me to work beyond the classroom and create systemic changes to benefit youth through sports. This in turn gave me a vision to move up from a phys. ed. teacher and inspire me to one day become an athletic director in my district. I knew for the most part that this is what I wanted to do as I am able to expand upon the skills that I learned from prior classes and apply it into practical sense from the knowledge gained here.
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While I was looking forward to advancing my career and creating change, there was always in the back of my mind doubt where I asked myself if I can actually do this or if this would bring me fulfillment. I was going through a rough mental state at the time but on spring 2023, I took EAD 861: Adult Learning with Dr. John Dirx which helped explain what I was going through and why I may have made the choices I made. Dr. Dirx helped navigate what learning may be. While, open to one’s interpretation, I think about the time I learn something and it’s often based upon an experience.
This experience can be interpreted as skills, ideas, information, and attitudes which can enable a change in behavior or perception. It can take place in a variety of settings such as school or home. I think about why I initially decided to go back to school, I was in isolation from the pandemic and I felt like I needed to do something to change my perception of the world around me.
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I used to think that adult learners, or in my case a graduate student, needed to be self- motivated to be successful. My initial excitement of learning started to wear off on me and was replaced by a sense of purposelessness. While I come to find out later that I have values, experiences, and realities which can greatly differ from what can be considered an “adult learner”, my internal struggles intensified that same month due to the tragic shootings at Michigan State. This experience deeply questioned the very foundation of my educational journey and what it meant to learn.
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Amidst the darkness and confusion, as time continued I too continued onward. I began to see my struggles in new light as I progressed through the semester. The coursework, however challenging, became a source of personal growth for me. It provided me with a newfound resilience and respect for learning to foster healing. By the end of the semester, I was able to reinforce my beliefs and confront my vulnerabilities. Knowing how I learned and it’s rationales allowed me to envision myself as an athletic director and leader again.
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This journey was not easy, there was constant uncertainty both from the virus and the shift to online learning and isolation. I did not know if I could handle the academic rigor of a renowned university and if this was the right choice from me both from a financial and mental health standpoint. Amidst this, through resilience, and with the help of the three courses mentioned above, I was shaped into becoming the leader I always aspired to be and navigate through my doubts.
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I look back today on my journey at Michigan State, and I am filled with gratitude and a greater sense of purpose. I am grateful for my professors who challenged and inspired me and never gave up on me. I lost count how many emails Dr. Koehler and Mrs. Harris sent me to check on my well-being and progress on my last semester. I think about my classmates whom shared their journeys and offered support such as Jose and Renee. I have an entire new community in East Lansing that created a space for learning and growth amidst unprecedented times.
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My journey is far from over, but I face the future with optimism and a greater sense of purpose. I may graduate on December 15, but my learnings here from Michigan State is lifelong. I am proud to call this school my alma mater and I will continue to take my experiences here into other aspects of my professional life. I am so excited to take my career to the next step and become an athletic director. I know for certain the knowledge and skills gained through the MAED program has me well equipped for any challenges that may come my way.