My Journey

My tenure for a Doctoral Degree started in 2008, inside my head. I was working in the
Faculty Practice Dental Clinic at The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) and
knew that one day I would be teaching alongside the dentists with whom I worked. I wanted to
be part of the Periodontal Department, working with dental students, as opposed to the Dental
Hygiene Department working with the dental hygiene students. No issues there, just a personal
preference.

I needed to get my family in a place where we could afford the expense and the time
commitment involved. My personal goal was to start a Masters Program shortly after my son,
Ryans Bar Mitzvah in 2009. Ryans Bar Mitzvah went off without a hitch and then we had plans
for a trip to Hawaii in 2010. Our Hawaii trip was an incredible family life experience that I
would never trade! I still had not started a program nor even began looking into one, but it was
still in my life plan.

An opening in the Department of Periodontics arose, and I applied. I was up against a

dental hygienist with no experience but she had a dental degree from India. She got the job.
When I asked the Program Director, Mark Reynolds, DDS, what was the main reason besides her
having a dental degree that he did not choose me, Dr. Reynolds comment was, get a Masters
Leila, and I do not care what you get it in, just get it started! Within one week, I signed up for
the required student course at University Maryland University College, OMDE 611: Library

Resources for Research. By March 2011, the senior Dental Hygienist in the Periodontal
Department announced that her husband took a job in Colorado and she would be following him.
BINGO!!! I would apply once more!

In the interim, I became more active as Deans faculty, a volunteer faculty program,
within the School of Dentistry and the Department of Periodontics. I worked alongside my
colleagues in the department, prepping materials for the pre-clinical course. When we were
working with the dental students I found I loved every minute with them.

Well, I applied and got the job!! At this point I was in my third class in the Masters in
Distance Education and E-Learning program at UMUC. I completed the program in December
2014 and started a Doctoral program in February 2015.

Intimidation and Encouragement

Intimidation
When I entered my beginning classes, I would read everyones Bio and see how I
matched up to them. Well, in my perception, I did not match up too well. I had a Bachelors of
Science degree only. Many of the other students in the class had Masters and were back for
another one or a certificate. There were students who held PhDs as well!! No other student was
in the medical or dental profession. I was alone in my field, and alone with the least educated. To

top it off, there were Librarians in the class!! To me, that meant they knew all about research, had
great comprehension skills and enjoyed reading. I was a goner!!!
Encouragement
I pushed myself to partner up with one of the Librarian students and found that I produce
a quality of work that made me equal to them. We worked on Blogs and I found myself gaining
the confidence needed to pursue the degree!
Intimidation
More intimidation came from the dreaded writing coach (WC). The first paper I had
reviewed came back with over 40 comments!!! Now I thought I was in over my head! All the
comments made sense and I understood where she was coming from, but I surely had more
doubt on what I was taking on in life.
Encouragement
I have a Mentor, Angela Dudley, RDH, MS, CHES. Angela reviewed all the comments
and made them sound not as bad as I had thought they were! We worked together to make the
paper better and applied many of the writing rules illustrated by the WC. Over the course of nine
classes, I surely can see how my writing skills have improved and the WC comments are
decreasing! SUCCESS!!!!

Intimidation
Group projects:

I am not sure here if it is intimidation or fear or frustration! Seems that every course has a
group project to some extent. Yes, group projects simulate the real world work experiences, as a
majority of people work with others in various ways. I get this and understand why we are
assigned group projects. My questions are always the same:

What is the percentage of the class grade for this component?

How many people in my group?
When will the synchronous meetings be held?
Will everyone be dedicated?
Will I take the lead or let someone else?

Encouragement:
Out of 9 classes, I have had one really bad experience and one exceptional experience.
The Good, The Bad, The Excellent
This was in OMDE 606. There were too many of us wanting to take the lead, there were
too many dictators, there were no listeners. As a result, myself and another person, obtained
permission to break from the group and submit our own project. I think that the instructor did not
listen to me, and for that matter even care, that we were struggling. I feared seeing these students
in other classes and did not want to work with them again. In OMDE 620, we had a group
project and I was placed with one of the former group members. I attempted the high road and
engaged her asynchronously, a positive move with a positive result.
The above student and I met again in OMDE 608. The class was told to divide into
groups for the assignment. An education group was forming and I engaged her once again (this
time via a personal email) to join the group into which I was going. She did join; however, she
posted to the group a negative comment directed directly to me. Fortunately, I and the remaining

members of the group simply chose to ignore this post. Our group continued in a most engaging
and organized fashion, in which all members participated equally.
I took class OMDE 604 in the summer of 2013. The class started with seven students and
dwindled to four. Our group project was starting and one of the four was not responding. It turns
out, that student had personal issues and was dropping the class, now we were three in a class.
The three of us worked as if we were one person! All decisions were made and agreed upon
(after short, friendly, and open discussions) in a very timely manner. This group was the group
that gave me new positive insight into group work! This experience was smooth as silk with no
hiccups!!
Present Day and Time
The Masters Degree journey is now completed. My next journey has started, a Doctoral
Degree.
Thanks to you, the web viewer, for the time in reading about my journey. Thanks to my
Mentor for always being willing to proof my papers and keeping the positive atmosphere when I
was down. Thanks to my son, who often joined me in studying at all hours of the day and night.
And a special thanks to my husband you have done the grocery shopping, cook all dinners,
served me breakfast and lunch on weekends at my desk, took on more parental responsibilities
and most of all, supported me through this educational endeavor. I love you to the moon and
back again!!