UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Education recently brought together a group of students from all over the world to the University Park campus for the second annual weeklong World Campus D.Ed. Summer Summit.
Throughout the week, 46 enrollees in the Doctor of Education (D.Ed.) degree program offered online through Penn State World Campus participated in activities designed to not only provide educational value, but to allow them to make and grow interpersonal connections with each other and Penn State faculty.
Engaging with their peers
Students attended seminars, listened to lectures from both Penn State and guest faculty, and had the opportunity to work with each other and engage in a manner that helped build stronger relationships among each other and with faculty in the program.
It proved to be an invaluable experience, said many in attendance.
“I could not have imagined that I would have made the connections that I have made, which I'm sure now will develop into lifelong friendships,” said D.Ed. student Charletta Zeigler, who works as principal of a K–8 charter school in Philadelphia. “I was telling the group I don't want this experience to end. I want to stay here, but I have to get back to my reality. But this has been awesome. I feel connected. I feel a lot more calm about the process and the program and the steps to take moving forward.”
Zeigler wasn't the only participant expressing similar feelings.
Kimberly Paglia, a music teacher for students who are blind and visually impaired from Mercer, Pennsylvania, and Constanza Bartholomae, who lives in Massachusetts and serves as interim director for the Center for Teaching Excellence at Bryant University in Rhode Island, said they were thrilled to turn their online acquaintanceship into a full-fledged friendship at Summer Summit.
“We've had such a fantastic time from the beginning,” Bartholomae said. “Kimberly and I, we had met online before, but then to be outside of the box or bubble that we had usually seen ourselves in and meet in-person and be able to have lunch together and chat — it's just been incredible to meet those kinds of connections, to see faculty that perhaps you've only spoken with on Zoom in person, and then just to bond and to realize some of the struggles that I was having or some of the high moments during the program, others have experienced, too. So now I have a feeling we'll be so much closer and probably chatting far more than we had ever anticipated or dreamed of.”
Paglia agreed, saying, "I think being an asynchronous program, we make connections — and I had a couple classmates that I would text back and forth and help each other out — but there's something to be said for the in-person connection. It allows you to go deeper beyond just a professional respect to a more personal level, and I do feel like I've made some friendships this week that are going to last for a lifetime and not just to support me professionally, but also personally encouraging one another.”
A desire to make a difference
The Summer Summit is a gathering of those from all walks of life who have been accepted into Penn State’s highly competitive World Campus D.Ed. program.
For Justin Kimble, a member of the U.S. Army working in recruiting operations in West Virginia, that means using his time in the program to put him in the best possible position to serve others when his military service is complete — especially fellow service members and veterans.
“I was part of that first fall 2023 cohort to come into this program,” Kimble said. “And my biggest thing is that my time in the Army is coming to an end here soon. But I really still want to support those who served. I want to support student veterans going out into the civilian realm. So, I thought to myself ‘How can I be the best? How can I give the best support there is?’ And that is getting a Doctor of Education and being in this kind of program to then help fellow student veterans to succeed in life.”
A desire to make a difference in the lives of others is a common theme among the D.Ed. students.
“Penn State's program appealed to me because it's really about lessons that you can learn from all around the world to impact change in your local context,” Zeigler said. “Knowing that we'll go out and be practitioners in our field and will actually be making the world a better place was very appealing to me.”
Despite being spread across a wide space geographically, those who attended the Summer Summit were able to find support in one another, with people who better understand what each other is going through, and a sense of belonging not always found in other online education programs.
“If you think about the whole ‘We are Penn State,’ it really does feel like a family,” Paglia said. “It feels like once you're a part of the Penn State family, you're always going to be part of that. And I think that brings a lot of power to the program.”
Learn more about the Doctor of Education offered by the Penn State College of Education online through Penn State World Campus.
