Meet Joe Bennett. He’s about to take off on a journey few of our graduate students decide to pursue.
Before Joe came to Drury, he worked many years in the K-12 education system in a variety of roles from teacher to school administrator in California and New Jersey. Over those years, his heart for his students and their futures grew.
And so did the number of injustice issues he witnessed in the school system.
Not one to sit back, Joe knew that in order to affect meaningful change, and inspire his students to do the same, he’d need to find a position that would give him leadership in policy-making. The first step would be additional education in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, followed by policy research. Could he find a program that does both?
“I stumbled upon the online Master in Integrative Leadership (MILE) program, which seemed like the perfect fit for me. The fact that I could earn two certificates and a master’s degree through the program was very attractive.”
Drury’s Master in Integrative Leadership program is quite unique. Students can choose two certificates that interest them, and combine them in a final capstone project. Joe chose to combine the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certificate with the Data Leadership certificate. “The courses were engaging, informative, and directly related to my goals of connecting data collection and analysis to DEI research and policy development.”
As he moved through the degree program, the possibility of being part of policy change in the K-12 setting became clearer. So much so that he was considering the next big step: a doctoral degree.
“The professors challenged me to think outside of the box and engaged me in scholarly discussions that piqued my curiosity about various DEI topics and inspired me to want to perform more in-depth research at the doctoral level.”
Joe will graduate from Drury this summer with his Master in Integrative Leadership. A few weeks later he’ll be in class at the University of Central Arkansas beginning his Ph.D. in Change Leadership for Equity and Inclusion. He will research DEI student leadership programs and their effect on K-12 students’ sense of belonging.
“I am eager to begin this research and use my work to obtain a Director of Diversity position in a school district or at the state level.”
Be on the lookout for Dr. Joe Bennett’s work in the near future!
Interested in learning more about the MILE degree? Request more information and see how this degree can support your professional goals.
You must be logged in to post a comment.