Taj-Marie pursued a doctorate that would train her in her two loves, Education and Organizational Leadership. The Ed.D. graduate shared her story and scholastic achievements with Aspen.
My unique educational journey started off with my desire to be a counselor. That changed over time due to my professional endeavors as an educator. I realized I had a heart for children, and I saw value in being a key component to their development. Also, I wanted to open a unique school in an effort to affect a generation. My friend, who was enrolled as a master’s nursing student, persuaded me to pursue my Doctorate at Aspen. The decision was an easy one as, upon my research, Aspen was the only program that would train me in my two loves, Education and Organizational Leadership.
During my scholastic endeavors at Aspen, I had the privilege to have great professors who aided in my success and were patient with me during several challenges faced during my course of study. In my first two courses, I had B’s, but I’m finishing strong with all A’s, thus graduating with honors. I wanted to be remembered as an educator to them who made a lasting impact, and Aspen has afforded me that opportunity. To further add, I will be the first in my family to receive a Doctorate, and that is a major feat, coming from parents who only had a high school diploma.
We must seek to be the best version of ourselves and strive to engage in excellence in everything that we pursue.
We have been “Authorized to Go!” When we examine the word ‘authorized,’ the Collins Dictionary defines it as being officially empowered or permitted. While the word ‘go’ means to leave or move.
Therefore, this means that we have been empowered through the knowledge and skill set acquired through our academic endeavors. As a result, we now have the disposition to make unforgettable marks in whatever areas we decide to reign in.
As cliche as it sounds, the work does not stop here. It has only just begun. We must seek to be the best version of ourselves and strive to engage in excellence in everything that we pursue.
Know this; true success cannot be measured when we accomplish a goal in just one area of our life. Rather, it is a remarkable balance — an ebb and flow between all interdependent parts of our being. Always take purposeful steps in making commitments to engage in goal-directed behavior consistently, to accomplish what is in our hearts to do brilliantly. You can do it, I, our professors, administrators, family, and friends, believe in you.
To continue on your road to success, it is imperative that you make a committed decision to engage in actions and activities that will add value to your life. Consistent and purposeful actions create a birthing, an expectancy, or expansion to add to yourself, which was not previously there before, and to gain momentum in achieving your desires.
My concluding advice is this, “If you can dream it, you can have it.” We can be endless dreamers and visionaries, but without putting these dreams and visions into action and making them happen, it would all be futile.
Take up your pen like a ready writer, reflect on your life thus far and the journey ahead, think of the legacy that you want to leave here on earth, the great accomplishments that you want to achieve, and the things that you want others to remember about you.
That is your legacy!