June 10, 2026 – I did it!!
I was the first to cross the stage at the University of Calgary’s spring convocation, and I received my Doctor of Education degree.
Deciding to go back one last time was a bucket list choice. In my early forties I had the genetic testing done which determined that I am positive for the BRCA genetic mutation, significantly increasing my lifetime odds of breast cancer. At age 45, I had a radical preventive mastectomy, which meant that the genetic predisposition to breast cancer that had invaded my mom when she was 48 would not be my reality. It is to the credit of medical researchers that my future could be different than that. Instead of doing chemo and radiation in my forties, I went back to university for one more round.
Taking the plunge to apply and then to do it was a scary decision, but so was facing a future with at least 30 years I had never actually planned for. When I was 21, and just finishing my B.Ed, I accompanied her to some of her appointments at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. It was 1995. Doctors there told me that this cancer was genetic, and while they did not fully understand what that meant yet, what it meant for me was that I would have to be “diligent in my surveillance for breast tumours.” Over time, I internalized that as being that “her path would be mine.” She died at age 57, and, without realizing it until after the mastectomy, I had stopped imagining having a retirement, or old age, grandkids, pensions…. It wasn’t until after the threats were surgically removed that I faced the new reality that I had no idea what it meant in my life to have more years ahead that I’d never planned for. But it was thanks to the work of medical researchers that my life was able to take a different path than hers.
So I went back to university. And it has been just a beautiful journey of learning, self discovery, mental and emotional control, pushing through when procrastinating was easy, and …. so much learning.
My amazing supervisor, Dr. Barb Brown , took the scariest thing I ever decided to do, and turned it into an exhilarating, fantastic ride of personalized learning, connection to the scholarly research community, collaborative research projects, opportunities to be published in empirical journals, and all of the tens of thousands of details that connect subtly to each of those categories. My dissertation committee Dr. Michele Jacobsen and Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton gave me additional breadth and depth and collectively, they taught me how to write. How to close off gaps in the methodology, and report findings without either overstating or understating…. just to name a few. My dissertation defence examiners, Dr. Beaumie Kim and Dr. Norm Vaughan took many hours to read and engage with my research, and the exam itself was one of the very best conversations I’ve ever had the privilege of participating in.
I have found my tribe. My Doc Squad Cohort is filled with the most amazing educators who I am so proud to call my friends. Four years ago, I was so nervous for another “first day of school”, whilst knowing that the classmates who were also starting that day would quickly become people I could not imagine my life without. I held my breath, and walked into a classroom filled with strangers where I found other women who are as nerdy about pedagogy and education, as I am. I have friends who want to talk about methodologies, and classroom complexities, and uncertainty, and the interplay and connectedness of qualitative observations that we’ve made throughout our educational careers. We talk about frameworks, funding, research design, and the future of education globally. I can’t imagine my life without my Doc Squad as part of it.
The Werklund school of education at UCalgary is second to none. There is a reason that all three of my degrees come from that faculty.
And what a beautiful way to end this four year journey to my biggest bucket list desire. Part of me feels like this can’t even be real.
Doc Squad – today we are one degree hotter. 🔥💋