Phillip Mitchell is a doctoral candidate in Leadership in Higher Education, offered through the Adult and Higher Education Program. Get to know him in this student feature!
What led you to Oregon State University?
I was looking for a legitimate doctoral program which would allow me to achieve my academic goals while working full time. I was very happy to learn of the program offered by Adult and Higher Education in the College of Education. It is well-respected and offered the opportunities of a local program while being geared for the working professional.
What is your field of study and why did you choose it?
Adult and Higher Education. I chose this program primarily because it provided education in all areas of higher education that are needed for a successful, effective career. I am working in the field but relatively new to it and I wanted to accelerate my understanding so I could make a greater contribution.
What kind of research do you do?
I plan to begin my dissertation research soon. It will be a narrative inquiry into the experiences of a group of medical students. These students are participating in a certain co-curricular program and I want to better understand how their experiences shape their perspectives and their identities.
What extracurricular activities do you participate in?
I work full-time administering a program at a health sciences university. I also had the privilege and pleasure to develop and teach a course in Leadership in Education for the CoEd education minor during the recent Fall term. My wife and I bought a 43-year-old home last summer and are enjoying getting it some needed TLC and renovation.
What do you like to do for fun, in your free time?
I like the performing arts, especially movies and theater. With the pandemic we haven’t done much of that recently. We enjoy state park camping and we go for long weekends several times a season. Also, I own a 1969 Rambler that I am slowly fixing up.
What advice would you give to a future College of Education student?
Michelle Maller (right) and Misty de Lei (left) will join OSU Counseling as Program Coordinator and Head Advisor.
OSU Counseling is thrilled to announce and introduce our new Counseling Program Coordinator and Counseling Head Advisor! Michelle Maller and Misty de Lei will start their respective roles as Program Coordinator and Head Advisor starting March 1. Both have extensive experience in supporting students and programs at Oregon State University in prior roles.
Michelle Maller (she/her/hers), Counseling Program Coordinator, holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from OSU and a master’s of science degree in Academic Advising from Kansas State University. Michelle has worked at OSU in the College of Forestry since 2013, first as undergraduate program coordinator and later as internship and education coordinator. She has organized and led DEI workshops, played a major role in accreditation efforts, coordinated curriculum revision proposals, and served as PI on Federal grants. She is currently Senator Elect of the OSU Faculty Senate. Michelle is a fourth generation Beaver, graduating with her undergraduate degree from OSU. She is also currently completing her PhD at Kansas State University. Her future goals are to be a continual advocate for students and for the program.
Misty de Lei (she/her/hers), Counseling Head Advisor, received both her BS in Psychology and a Masters of Education in Counseling at Washington State University. She has worked in various higher education institutions providing counseling and advising services since 2012. She has spent the last six and a half years at OSU working as an academic advisor and student employee supervisor for the College of Business (COB). Misty is actively involved with the OSU community, serving as a faculty advisor for clubs, a member of several advising committees, and a volunteer for cultural diversity events. Outside of OSU, Misty enjoys playing video games, participating in Corvallis sports leagues (soccer, ultimate Frisbee, & softball), and spending time with her family.
Please join in extending welcome and congratulations to our two new fabulous staff in Counseling!
OSU Counseling was honored to receive the 2022 Counseling Program award from the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE), a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). This prestigious and competitive award is presented to a counseling program that has demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of LGBTGEQIAP+ awareness and affirmation. The award will be presented to OSU counseling faculty at the national conference of the American Counseling Association this April.
Our program seeks to decrease barriers to entering and completing graduate school for students who identify as LGBTGEQIAP+, and to prepare counselors to counsel and advocate for clients who identify as LGBTGEQIAP+. As an example of this, in 2021 OSU counseling faculty assisted school counselors to implement Gender Identity Support plans to advocate for students who identify as gender expansive. What began as a program piloted at one elementary school quickly spread and is now used by school counselors in the second-largest school district in Oregon.
Josh is a lifelong geek who taught himself to type in computer programs to play games when he was 5 years old and has been fascinated by the intersection of learning and technology ever since. Josh has a Master’s degree in Adult Education and Organizational Development from Oregon State University and works on software education and community initiatives in the Developer Relations group at Intel.
A community college leader of his time, Charles E. Carpenter was the founder of the Community College Leadership Program at Oregon State University, now part of the College of Education’s Adult and Higher Education Program. Shortly before Charles passed away in 2003, the Charles E. Carpenter Lecture and Conference endowment was created in his name. Today his legacy is carried on by his spouse, Doreene Carpenter.
As a young man returning from WWII, Charles completed his GED and pursued higher education in Colorado. Instructing night classes he found an affinity and talent for teaching adults. The emerging community college system became the arena for what he viewed as “servant leadership.”
He worked alongside an architect to plan and build Highline Community College in South Seattle where he was an administrator and teacher, and served briefly as interim President. With the same architect, he served as planner and initial developer of the multicampus Seattle Community College.
Charles was inspired to improve his credentials so he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin, surrounded by outstanding professors and a cadre of students who became notable leaders in the blooming community college movement. Immediately Charles put his skills to the challenge to become founding President of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
When that institution was well established, Charles turned his attention to bringing additional leaders into the field in Corvallis, Oregon.
Charles and his wife, Doreene, arrived in Corvallis in 1972. He found that it would require vision and persistence to develop courses and attract professors and students in a university setting. Eventually, his Community College Leadership Program took off. Student cohorts met monthly at Silver Falls Conference Center, which allowed them to remain employed and engaged in their careers. Charles and his teaching cadre could boast that their program had the highest completion rate of all.
While Charles was accomplishing his goals, Doreene was busy as well. Having previously taught in Seattle and Austin, she enrolled in a summer class at OSU to become credentialed to continue teaching in Oregon. Although her life as an OSU student was brief, it was meaningful.
“My life’s trajectory could not have proceeded without that one class. It opened up everything for me, and I loved my teaching.”
She taught K-2 at Bellfountain School in South Benton County before becoming employed in Corvallis, where she taught primarily kindergarten at Adams, Wilson, Fairplay and Harding.
“I would have 30 students in the morning and another 30 in the afternoon. With the flow of students coming and going, I could have upwards of 70 students over a year. That is a lot of children.”
She has since enjoyed the privilege of attending weddings and holding babies, and occasional encounters with former students and their parents.
Doreene holds a great amount of pride for Charles’s extensive and lasting influence. “Students come from across the country to achieve higher degrees in community college leadership. It’s a very strong program. It’s important.”
Inside and outside the classroom, Doreene Carpenter has always found a way to inspire education. Through her support of the Charles Carpenter Conference and Lecture endowment she seeks quietly to play an impactful role in the success of College of Education students.
“My legacy has to be that I helped keep Chuck’s legacy going,” she says.
Every year, Doreene looks forward to greeting attendees of the lecture, admiring student work, and immersing herself in the richness of the lecture. She continues to donate to the event and the program, eager to see how it continues to evolve throughout the years.
“I think it’s remarkable what everyone is able to pull together and present each year,” she says. “I want these annual events to be very inclusive and bring people together.”
The lecture and Doreene’s donations all center around her belief that community colleges, and educational institutions in general, are vital to the success of everyone.
“Community colleges lift entire communities, student by student,” she says. “They are nimble and able to respond to the needs of students in their communities and create programming to support what the workforce needs or give students a leg-up toward university instruction.”
Doreene plans to continue inviting friends, associates and degree recipients to become donors to the Charles Carpenter Annual Conference and Lecture Fund. She hopes to further develop the Conference aspect of the event.
“In the end, Charles left me in a position to be able to support the annual lecture in a meaningful fashion, for which I am very grateful.”
This year’s Charles E. Carpenter Lecture and Conference Endowment will be held virtually on February 17, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PST. The event speaker will be Dr. Rufus Glasper, President, and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College. The title of the lecture is The Paradigm Shift for Higher Education.
This post is a repost of Sharon Sanchez-Aragon’s Human’s of OSU feature.
Name the courses that you teach, your credentials, and how long you’ve been at OSU?
I teach:
ED 472/572 Foundations of ESOL
ED 473/573 Instructional Approaches to ESOL Education
ED 476/576 Partnerships and Ideologies in ESOL and Bilingual Education
ED 410/510 ESOL Internship
ED 410 Supervision of Double Degree Student Teachers
I was a K-12 Educator for 17 years. I am certified to teach math, Spanish, ESOL/Bilingual Education, kindergarten through 12th grade. I have a BA in Education and an MS in ESOL/Bilingual Education.
I have been teaching in the College of Education at OSU since January 2017.
What is your favorite thing about OSU? What do you feel that Oregon State offers that sets us apart from other colleges?
First of all, we have the most beautiful campus in the country. The green, the trees and the flowers are beyond compare. We offer a wide variety of educational opportunities for students, young and older. The research that is completed in our university cannot be surpassed by any other university. Our engineering, business and agricultural colleges are known throughout the country. Soon our College of Education will be as well.
Second, our College of Education is growing because of the outstanding work that is being done to prepare new teachers for the important career of working with students in Oregon public schools and throughout the country. We are fortunate to keep so many good teachers in Oregon. However, many of our students go to work in other states where their Oregon license is accepted because of the exceptional job we do of educating and preparing our new teachers.
Most importantly, I work with the best team at Oregon State University. The ESOL/Dual Language Team is composed of the most amazing people! I have learned so much from these educators and the important research they do. Our team is working on a very important grant headed by Dr. Karen Thompson; TEAMS. This research project has brought to light the impact ESOL preparation of teachers has on the education of K-12 students. Practicing teachers in this program have improved the way that they design and differentiate instruction. Teachers feel more confident working with the English learners in their classrooms, as well as working with their parents, families and communities. Of course, we could not do this work without our support staff, who I consider a part of our team. Our college has Gosia Wojtas, Carma Ganta, Paula Dungjen and Kristin Kinman who do everything that keeps our college running in an organized and efficient way. And then there is Claire who creates materials to advertise and promote all of the work that we do. Their creative and technological skills are one of the reasons so many people choose to prepare for teaching at Oregon State University’s College of Education.
Your biggest piece of advice to current or prospective students?
As a student at Oregon State University be prepared to grow and be challenged in ways you never believed. Students at Oregon State are well rounded. They learn to be organized so that they can study hard and play hard. The events on campus range from dynamic and inspirational speakers to heart-stopping sporting events. The professors and instructors expect only high quality work from their students. It is an experience students will want to share with family and friends for years to come.
Why did you want to become a teacher and what’s the most rewarding thing about it?
I did not have very good experiences in school. Latinas especially were undervalued and treated as second class. I was made to feel that I should be ashamed of the color of my skin and the fact that my English was not perfect. However, it was as a parent that I became quite concerned about my son’s education and the manner in which he was treated in school as well. So, at the age of 30 I began my college education. As a single parent, working full-time and going to school full-time, I earned and paid for my degree and a teaching certificate. It was never easy, but it was the best decision I ever made.
I spent the next 17 years as a public school educator. Nothing has ever given my life more meaning. I was so blessed to have my students, better known as my kids, in my life. I was able to see students overcome incredible obstacles and become extremely successful in their lives. I most often chose to work with students with educational and social challenges. I also worked with our English learners. Nothing was more important than my kids, and they knew it. I was also respected by their parents and the community, who knew that I always had the students’ success and best interest at heart. I am privileged to still have contact with many of my students who are grown and have families of their own. One of my greatest joys has been my students who have chosen to become educators. Some were my student teachers when I taught high school. And although I have only been working at OSU for about 3 years, many of my students have chosen to complete their teacher training here at Oregon State, where I have been able to be their teacher again.
I take the responsibility of educating college students as seriously as I did my public education teaching. The teachers I prepare now will impact the lives of so many children. They will make the difference between a child who enjoys and values education, and one who drops out of school. My student teachers will be the ones to make sure that all children, their diversity, cultures and languages are valued and respected so that they can have the confidence they need to be successful in any field of study or career they choose. Above all, they will not have to wait until they are 30 years old to have enough confidence to start the life they were meant to live. Teaching was not and is not my career or my job, it IS my calling, my life.
What led you to Oregon State University, and how long have you worked for the College of Education?
I joined the College of Education in June 2021. Before moving to Oregon three years ago, I worked as an advisor for several years at another university like Oregon State and missed it. I enjoy the setting, values and energy of a large, public land-grant university. Education has always been an area of passion for me as well (my mother was a teacher), so when this job opportunity came up it felt like the perfect combination of where I wanted to be (OSU) and what I love to do (advising).
Tell me about your position including what you do day-to-day and what makes your job interesting?
As the Head Advisor, I work individually with students interested in becoming a teacher to help them navigate college and achieve their goals. In addition to this, I also develop processes, systems, and supports that improve the educational experience for all students. A typical day for me may include one-on-one student appointments, discussions with advisors across campus around ongoing issues and developing solutions, engaging in critical conversations with colleagues around how to address biases and systematic barriers that directly impact our students, putting together resources or tools to help students get into their desired Education program, and of course, lots of emails! I also get to work with our student ambassadors to plan community events and provide peer support for their fellow students.
What is your favorite part about your job?
The best part of my day is meeting with students. When a student reaches out or comes to see me because they are confused and frustrated and they leave with a clear direction and hope for the future, it provides purpose and meaning to all the work I do.
What do you like to do in your free time, outside of work?
Outside of work I spend a lot of time with my two kiddos (ages 8 and 3) and my husband. It’s never a dull moment in our house! I also enjoy going to the beach, reading, hiking/being outdoors, playing sports, horseback riding, watching Netflix, and taking naps.
