Jenay Sermon

Importance of your research and work

I began the doctoral program in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies with goals to conduct research and create innovative practices for underperforming college students, particularly the underrepresented. This work is important for the future of education institutions as well as the workforce. Underrepresented students have diversified these spaces increasingly, more so than in previous decades. The McKnight Dissertation Fellowship has assisted me greatly toward completing my education. Student funding within my college is typically competitive; in addition, it is not my desire to continue to use loans toward education. The McKnight, then, was extremely timely – including the professional development components that accompany the funding. As it stands, I am rounding out the proposal for my study and will collect data and compete the study in the next year. From there, I would like to continue research in this particular area of education innovation, including development of timely products and programs for learners in academia and business sectors.