Sean Schofield

I have worked in higher education for 15 years and presently serve as Executive Director of Career Development for Muhlenberg College (a small, private liberal arts college in Allentown, PA). Getting my Ph.D. at William & Mary allowed me to jump-start my career progression, and has continually served me throughout my role in a leadership capacity in several ways. In the School of Education, I developed a true and deep appreciation for using data to inform decision-making, tell important stories, and be more inclusive with departments across campus. At Muhlenberg, to shape our path forward, I led my team of 7 through strategic planning, which I learned and practiced in my classes, and I have frequently cited theorists and practices that I pull directly from my experiences as a Ph.D. student. Additionally, having a Ph.D. has opened doors to deep collaborations with faculty from disciplines that have traditionally not engaged with career development, and many of the initial conversations that I've had networking across our faculty have been about my dissertation and other research across our faculty have been about my dissertation and other research that I've performed. In addition to the external legitimacy I enjoy from completing the program, I also learned a tremendous amount about myself, my leadership style, my leadership frame, and how to think differently about team motivation and stakeholder engagement. These all give me a tremendous amount of confidence in my work and have helped me rise into a leadership position across campus.

I have always had a deep fondness for Williamsburg, and have always been excited by symbolism and excellence. To me, William & Mary is replete with both of these things. The rich history of the university, coupled with the significance it has and has had on a national scale helped me to picture myself there. Additionally, the ceremonial aspects continually provided me with motivation throughout my journey as a doctoral student and candidate. Regarding excellence, I was enamored by the faculty, but I also felt like I belonged in the classroom. Faculty didn't see themselves as experts that we download knowledge from; they truly treated our classes as opportunities to lean on theory and practice and create knowledge and innovation in a shared space. As a person with (at that point) over a decade of higher education experience, this meant a lot to me because it could tie my experiences to what we were learning and provide me with actionable information and uses for the academic content. I chose the higher education program both for the flexibility of allowing me to be a part-time student and full-time employee but also because I set my sights on college/university leadership, and the program is designed to provide flexibility to identify learning domains that you'd like to focus more on, as well as dive deeply into leadership, make sense of policy, and learn the tools to be an effective strategic planner.