As I reflect on this journey, I believe I feel even more grateful for the opportunities, experiences, and life-long learning that I have already and will gain from the Fellowship. I don’t believe the “surreal” feeling will ever dissipate. I encounter people weekly that either congratulate me, ask about how the journey is going, or ask about the application process. For me, the main mission of the Fellowship is completing a doctorate degree in higher education leadership. I had completed the coursework shortly before I received the Fellowship, so the majority of my time in this six-month period has been research and writing and forming the initial dissertation. I have finally secured a solid topic and an approved problem statement, which took much longer than I had anticipated.  

My original plan for the Fellowship was to study tribal college leaders specifically; however, my chair didn’t feel my problem statement was a true problem. She felt it was more of a situation. Therefore, after months of trying to stay true to the topic, I took some great advice. The best dissertation is a done dissertation. Just like the doctoral process, I have found that the Fellowship process may change as well.  Instead of worrying too much about the process, I am learning to assess what is best and learn from the day to day journey. I have always been a planner and achieved the goals I have set out to achieve. However, I haven’t been too easy on myself when obstacles have set me back. Therefore, I’m learning each day that the doctoral process is relying on others opinions and guidance (my chair mostly), which can be very daunting at times. 

When I applied for the Fellowship I had never really thought about how this could advance my own leadership skills. I thought of it more on how the doctoral degree will help me pursue and take the college to new levels. Working at the Lower Brule Community College has been such a blessing and I know how much it means to the students and community. I was hoping that by receiving a doctoral degree, the college will be more credible and this will help us receive accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission. After so many years of sweat and tears, we could finally achieve a stand-alone institution status. While I was in the final stage of the application process, in fact right in the middle of the face-to-face interviews, I remember the panelist asking how I will enhance my own leadership skills with the Fellowship. It was an eye-opener. I appreciate how much taking care of ourselves is recommended by the Bush Foundation. Wellness was a large portion of our Fellowship meeting. Gaining the support of others, including my wonderful mentor at Bush has fortified me to do even better. I tend to be very hard on myself and I’m learning to be more forgiving. At the same time, I’m not taking a second of this journey for granted. 

Earlier in the year, when I started the writing process I felt so much dread and anxiety. While I continue to learn and practice scholarly writing, I try not to see it as tedious work. I try to focus on the vision of my work and how this will help me in my future work at the college. I try to be grateful every day and see the positive in every situation. I do this by a variety of means. I like to collect wall signs with inspiring words and phrases. I also have started a gratitude journal. This is a great way to reflect and look back on my life journey. I look forward to reading these journals 10, 20, 30 years from now.  

Going forward, I am enthusiastic and encouraged by the many training opportunities to enhance my leadership skills, personal, and professional development. I have been traveling a lot for work, so I’m looking forward to when I start attending leadership trainings that will allow me to put valuable knowledge into practice. I’ve debated hiring a leadership mentor. I have actually reached out to someone and will see if it’s a good fit for me. I continue to explore the many options and opportunities and find it interesting to see what other Fellows are doing by reading their monthly reports. I stay encouraged and motivated by the other Fellows in the current cohort and in prior years. We have been afforded a wonderful opportunity that is a once in a lifetime dream.