Dr. Tracey Danner-Odenwelder is the first college graduate in her family and talks about how much she had to overcome to get to that point.
Here is the transcript:
Ryan
I’d like to introduce our first speaker, Tracy and I met through Rotary. I’m a member of the Indianapolis E Rotary Club. Tracy is a member of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis and we got to know each other pretty quickly on when I joined Rotary. And so she is the owner of total dynamic organization and probably. By far one of the most educated people I know, so everyone, let’s give Tracy Danner, Oden welder a hand.
Tracey
Hi I have some notes within my time but I will talk to you tonight about 5 things. Faith, determination, perseverance, hard work and creative thinking. So I’ve been asked to share my educational journey with you to put it into context. I am a first generation college student, so I never once was told you’re. Gonna go to. College, I was told you’re going to work hard. You’re going. You OK at about age 2022 where everyone else was in college? I was working full time and supporting myself somehow, though at this point I had a vision that one day I was going to have my doctorate. So at age 27, when I was a new mom on maternity leave. A full time worker I. Decided to go back to school full time. I started my 17 year journey at that point after my undergraduate. I decided to go on for my Masters and my MPhil from the University of Pennsylvania. At that point, I lived in Pennsylvania during my first degree. I moved here to Indiana. Everyone said you going to transfer out here. No, I put too much hard work time, money, effort into Penn. I’m going to graduate from Penn. It was not a commutable program, so I would fly to some semesters, fly to Philadelphia, every every week. I realized along the way that I could take international courses and study. Abroad and I could do the work here and go there and then do a 30 page paper. So it was a creative way. To continue my. Education moving forward, during my second second degree with PEN I. I had my son and mind you for these two degrees, I would take the train and the plane and the taxi and the bus to class every time I went and let you know. And unless I went abroad, then it was even more. After this, I decided to pursue my doctorate. My doctorate at George Washington from George Washington University in Human and organizational learning. None of it. It was done online. I would fly to DC for about two 2 1/2 years to take courses every once a month, every Thursday through Sunday, monthly, Thursday through Sunday. Classes from 9:00 in the morning to 9:00 at night. So I sat in classes longer than if I would have been taking them here. After after my coursework, I still had to go in and go go in for my dissertation. My research and and start that journey about three months into that process I started a new job that would be the Executive Director for resource development for Ivy Tech. I in Muncie and so I had a big job. Still full time Mom still full time student and I now had an hour. Mute each way. Life was not always so easy. There’s plenty of opportunity to give that up about 3 months into that I about three months into doing my new job and my research. My father committed suicide, who lived in Pennsylvania that brought around a lot of unexpected changes. And with that, I will share that. My 17 year journey was filled with many little bumps along the way. Some big life surprises, some positive some. Not so positive. I call this life that that life happens to all of us in one way or another. Today I stand here with my doctorate from George Washington University, a great school, 2 Ivy League degrees. I studied abroad in eight countries. And I would leave you with. I hope you dream big that you use faith, termination, perseverance, hard work and creative thinking, and wish you much success. Thank you. And one second.
This transcript was computer generated. If you see any problems, please contact us. Thanks!
