I knew I was required to earn a Masters degree to continue on my path of being a teacher but I took my time deciding on what program I wanted to do. I did not want to get a Masters for Art Education and I needed to make sure whatever program I chose would hold my interest and keep me motivated for the next 2 years. 

I've always enjoyed learning but I was nervous about returning to school. I had earned my bachelor's degree in Fashion back in 2016. In 2020 I had returned to school to earn my initial certificate in Art Education.  I was 2 years into my teaching career and just finding a balance between work and my personal life but I also knew it would be difficult if I waited any longer. 

After looking through some online only programs in other states, I found myself thinking about the program my closest co-worker talked about frequently: Creativity and Change Leadership. 

Click here to read my Letter of Intent from my application into the program. 

Even though I was planning for my wedding that August, I signed up for 2 classes that summer, CRS 559, Principles in Creative Problem Solving and 610, Facilitation of Group Problem Solving. It truly felt like I was diving head first into creativity and I had so much fun. That summer I learned problem solving strategies and how to begin facilitating them while also getting to play with improvisation techniques. 

Click here to read the Scholarly Paper I wrote about the iconic Cher for CRS 559. 

In the Fall semester I had the opportunity to take 2 courses with Dr. Keller-Mathers. In 560, Foundations of Creative Learning, I began to understand when and where the study of creativity began and who were the major forces that drove the research forward. In this class I perceived the various definitions that existed for Creativity. 

Click here to read my Scholarly Synthesis on Ravenna Helson

In 670,  Foundations in Teaching and Training Creativity is when I was first introduced to the Torrance Incubation Model. This is a piece of the program I try to use when I am creating a lesson, whether it has been for a presentation for my other courses or in my own classroom. I intend to continue incorporating TIM in my teaching not only because it's good practice but also because I believe it works well in connecting students to content. 

Click here to see my In-Class TIM lesson and my Out-of-Class TIM Lesson

Statistics was never my strong suit but CRS 620,  Assessments in Creativity was surprisingly fascinating. I enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the creativity measures. It was fun to take the tests and criticize the studies we researched. I am even hoping to use some of the measures in my classroom to try and get to know my students better in a different way. 

When I took CRS 625, Current Issues in Creative Studies in the Fall it was my first zoom class in the program. Although I prefer to learn in person, Dr. Holinger made the course so diverse. Each week we had the opportunity to learn from a visitor who is an expert in their field. This course is also known as "The Big Question class" where we were able to choose a topic to write about with an overarching question to research about creativity. My paper was very personal and challenging to write but it set me up well for the Literature Review I had to write for the Comprehansive Exam the following semester. 

Click here to read more about my Big Question paper

During my last semester of the program I took CRS 635, Creativity and Change Leadership alongside my Comprehensive Exam to earn my Masters. 

Although I felt like my other courses had prepared me for leading, Creativity and Change Leadership was really a road map where I could visualize myself as a leader and explore parts of myself that I could work on for that vision to be realized. It was the most personal course; it was challenging at first to think so much about myself but I think it's the true start of my journey as a leader. As someone who became hesitant with goal setting after I completed my undergrad, I found this course to be highly valuable and inspiring.