Graduate Student Profile

The Voice of Perseverance: Heather Robinson's Story
By Sarah Jio

With an undergraduate degree and a few years of experience in the working world, Heather Robinson says she felt lost, unchallenged and unsure of her career path.

Learning about graduate study at SPU, however, was the first step towards change. A longtime interest in education and psychology led her to enroll in SPU's master degree program in school counseling. To Robinson, this seemed the clear answer for the fresh life change she was looking for. She would come to find, however, that this pursuit would open countless doors, challenge her immensely and eventually allow the title "Dr." to appear on her business card.

"If I knew how difficult this was going to be, I don't know that I would have done it," she laughs.

Robinson says God's leading guidance and encouragement from the SPU faculty enabled her to persevere and face the rigors of graduate study. "They really helped me both personally and professionally," she says.

"In the School of Education, we are always looking for graduate students in our master's degree programs who have a keen intellect, a deep desire to learn, and do outstanding academic work," said Bill Rowley, associate dean of graduate studies for SPU's School of Education. "When we identify someone with these characteristics, we encourage them to pursue a doctoral degree - even if it isn't at SPU. Heather is a perfect example of a student who demonstrates these qualities."

Robinson's professors also introduced her to another opportunity that would define and give meaning to her doctoral coursework - conducting research with the Gates Foundation-sponsored Washington School Research Center (WSRC).

At the WSRC, Robinson studies high-performing elementary schools in Washington state and identifies their effective practices that other schools with similar demographics can model. She says this research helps dispel the myth that students from backgrounds of poverty cannot succeed, but rather, that student learning is really about commitment, relationship building and a caring community.

"I feel so blessed because my job relates directly to what I'm working on for my doctorate," Robinson says. "It's so nice to have that integration."

Now just a year away from receiving her doctorate in education, Robinson has a palate of career options before her. She may pursue school counseling, teach at a university or continue working in a research setting where hard data becomes ammunition for change.

Regardless, Robinson says she'll continue to persevere. Her work, and her SPU education have made her a proponent for change. Robinson says she believes that education can change lives, like hers.

"It works at the elementary level and it works at the graduate level," she says. "These things happen at SPU."