It was a HUGE transition from the conservative, disciplined US Navy active duty to the liberal, loosy-goosey world of Higher Ed! But, my 2.5 years at James Madison, while on active duty, and the 3.5 years of Doctoral studies were some good years.
I was totally LOST in doing my Masters at JMU. I always wanted to be a Biologist, but was frustrated (Thank you L^rd) and unable to do an MS in that field. I was running a lot, so I thought a Masters in Physical Ed. is better than NO Masters, so that is what I did, driving 60 miles each way to night school to earn the degree. Sad to say, I don't think I learned much except in a couple of Higher Ed. classes taught by Dr. Jesse Liles.
The Ed.D. program at U GA was extremely useful, but still wasn't optimal. At UGA I met Future Dr. Jesse DeMello, and furture Dr. Susan Vickery who agreed to do a weekly Bible Study during our years together. I met a bunch more future Profs including Dr. Phil Sparling, Dr. Mindy Stafford, Dr. Chet Ray, Dr. Dave Hill of Quebec, and a bunch of other super people. My mentor was a famous Exercise Physiologist, Kirk Cureton, whose father was one of the founders of our field.
The time went by quickly and our son Daniel was born during our "destitute years" at UGA. I really don't recall it being especially stressful, even though I was only making $6k per year from my assistant-ship and about $400 per month from VA benefits.
The studies weren't too hard and though most folks found statistics daunting, having taken differential equations and Calc I, II, and III as an undergrad, made stats seem pretty easy. I worked hard at learning lab skills, and unfortunately our lab didn't do very much research during my 4-years total at UGA.
Though our program wasn't very strong during my time there, it got a lot stronger later. I used the weaknesses I perceived to help me contribute to a strong Ph.D. program at U of AL.
Those were some great years in Athens, learning a lot, making a BUNCH of great friends like Terry and Lowell, and Chuck, and my classmates. Thanks be to G^d for His provision for me, my family and my education!
I was totally LOST in doing my Masters at JMU. I always wanted to be a Biologist, but was frustrated (Thank you L^rd) and unable to do an MS in that field. I was running a lot, so I thought a Masters in Physical Ed. is better than NO Masters, so that is what I did, driving 60 miles each way to night school to earn the degree. Sad to say, I don't think I learned much except in a couple of Higher Ed. classes taught by Dr. Jesse Liles.
The Ed.D. program at U GA was extremely useful, but still wasn't optimal. At UGA I met Future Dr. Jesse DeMello, and furture Dr. Susan Vickery who agreed to do a weekly Bible Study during our years together. I met a bunch more future Profs including Dr. Phil Sparling, Dr. Mindy Stafford, Dr. Chet Ray, Dr. Dave Hill of Quebec, and a bunch of other super people. My mentor was a famous Exercise Physiologist, Kirk Cureton, whose father was one of the founders of our field.
The time went by quickly and our son Daniel was born during our "destitute years" at UGA. I really don't recall it being especially stressful, even though I was only making $6k per year from my assistant-ship and about $400 per month from VA benefits.
The studies weren't too hard and though most folks found statistics daunting, having taken differential equations and Calc I, II, and III as an undergrad, made stats seem pretty easy. I worked hard at learning lab skills, and unfortunately our lab didn't do very much research during my 4-years total at UGA.
Though our program wasn't very strong during my time there, it got a lot stronger later. I used the weaknesses I perceived to help me contribute to a strong Ph.D. program at U of AL.
Those were some great years in Athens, learning a lot, making a BUNCH of great friends like Terry and Lowell, and Chuck, and my classmates. Thanks be to G^d for His provision for me, my family and my education!
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