Even turtles reach the finish line - and learn a thing or two along the way

My family and I had even more reason to celebrate on Mother’s Day this year. Last night, I officially graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with my Master of Arts in Communications, a journey that started in August 2018.

A lot has happened in almost five years, both professionally and personally. In that time, I’ve had three different jobs, welcomed my second daughter and survived a global pandemic. It almost goes without saying that the communications industry has also seen drastic shifts and undergone a fascinating evolution in that time.

Ahead of my graduation, I was reflecting on my life over the past five years, the changes I’ve experienced and what I would tell myself before taking my first class (Corporate Social Responsibility Communications with Dr. Maxine Gesualdi ). Here are my main takeaways – I hope they inspire you in some way!

1. It’s OK to set your own pace. Even for a master’s degree program, five years is a long time. Most of my classmates finished in two or three years – some even in less time – and every year I was regularly introduced to a new cohort of communications grad students that would lap me in getting their degrees well before me. While I would joke that I was a turtle, the reality is I did hit a wall at one point and found myself getting frustrated that it was taking me so long to finish. In looking back, however, I don’t think I could have grown as much professionally if I was doubling up on classes each semester, and I absolutely could not have been as present for my family. It took me longer than most to reach the finish line, but in the end, the result was the same.
2. Embrace getting outside your comfort zone – even if you’re forced to. Pursuing a master’s degree in communications was initially ambitious enough for me. I certainly learned new communications theories, methods and tactics in my classes, but the general subject matter was squarely in my comfort zone. However, I eventually exhausted all of the available communications classes and was forced to look outside the program to fulfill my electives. I took a surprisingly challenging technical editing class from English professor Dr. Kyle P. Vealey and a public affairs class taught by Amanda Olejarski before I decided to explore classes in Human Resource Management, figuring the subject dovetailed nicely with internal communications. I ended up loving the program and was able to apply much of what I learned to my day job; in fact, I’m going to continue the next two semesters to get my Master of Science in HRM!
3. It’s natural for your goals and motivation to change. I decided to pursue my master’s in 2018 because I wasn’t certain about my future in communications. I figured academia was a good insurance policy. However, in the years since, I’ve fallen more in love with my chosen career and – at least now – can’t imagine ever doing anything else besides corporate communications. In more recent years, my motivation was not to have a backup plan or resume differentiator, but rather to finish strong and, more importantly, set an example for my daughters and make them proud of me. It was incredibly poignant and fitting that my graduation ceremony was on Mother’s Day. My 3-year old and 7-year old daughters watching me graduate with my master’s degree made the hundreds of hours of homework, extremely late nights and constant juggling act worth it.
4. Learning is a lifelong exercise. I remember counting down the days until finishing undergrad and the feeling of being ready to move on with my life. However, this time it feels a lot different. I’m truly excited to get a second master's degree in a different field. Despite being on track to complete my MS in HRM in May 2024, I’ve already started to think about other certifications and programs that might be worth enrolling in at some point in the future. The older I get, the more I want to learn and experience. I certainly didn’t feel that way when I started my master’s in 2018!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank those who have supported me along the way. First and foremost, thanks to my husband Derek Davis, MPA, ICMA-CM for his tremendous support and setting the pace for me. If he hadn’t started his MPA program a few years before I went back to school, I probably would have procrastinated even longer, and he made sacrifices to help me reach this point. I am also so grateful for the life-long support, encouragement, love and commitment to education from my parents, Rosemary and Brendan McCormack . I'd also like to give a big shoutout to PNC , OneMain Financial and S&P Global for offering education reimbursement benefits that I was fortunate enough to take advantage of to obtain this degree.

There are far, far too many people to name who have encouraged, supported and inspired me in different ways throughout this journey, but I'd like to give a special thanks and shoutout to Lisa Claus, CIPP/US, CIPM , April Kabahar , Ola Kopacz , Dave Guarino , Bradd DelMuto , Jason Beyersdorfer , Marcey Zwiebel , Leah Pappas , Paul Hartwick , Amy Sitnick , Dimitra Manis , Megan Bruton , Vanessa J. , Molly Deger, P.E. , Adam Rainear , Erin Maurer , Gina M Gavini and Theresa Yockey .