After two years of working full time, taking two classes a term, waking up at 4:30 AM, I’m thrilled to share that I graduated from Penn State with a Masters’s in Organization Development and Change. It’s been quite a ride, and I wouldn’t have been able to have achieved it without the support of my husband and daughter.

I graduated with my MPS in Organization Management and Change this weekend from Penn State! I worked very hard and am pleased to say that I was invited to join Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society. I maintained a 4.0 for the entirety of my coursework. (what?! I’ve never done that before). I loved my course work, loved my degree, loved the routine of getting up every morning by 4:30 AM to get my job done before work and the responsibilities of being a wife and mother.

Sure, there was a lot I had to give up along the way, but this degree meant so much to me that I was willing to sacrifice and put in the hard work.

I learned dedication and commitment when I was an undergrad at the University of New Hampshire; it’s also where my desire and curiosity into team dynamics and organizations began. I rowed on the women’s novice team my freshman year and took a break in the fall of my sophomore year to sail. But, I realized I missed crew – the early mornings, the dedication to the team, the physical challenge and mental fortitude needed to succeed. I’d injured myself my freshman year and wasn’t quite ready to hop back in the boat as a rower, so I decided that I’d focus on the mental side of the sport. I became a coxswain for the men’s varsity heavyweight eight and, eventually, the winningest coxswain in UNH history.

As I reflect on crew, I realize that much of what I did as a coxswain is what I do now in organization development. I worked systematically with the team and individuals on finding the sweet spot where each person is contributing their best and together making the team fly. It’s about finding the swing.

Here’s where OD comes in – the swing is affected by every system impacting the boat or the organization – the external environment (wind, waves, water, current, temperature, rain, sun, fog, frost….), the internal environment (arms, legs, heads, minds, oars, boat, clothes, feet…). The individuals (focus, commitment, drive, emotion, fatigue, energy) are getting it all to work together at its pinnacle. It’s hard and takes dedication, focus, determination, and a common goal and vision to execute.

When I went through my program, there was only so much I could control, such as the time of day I’d do my homework, the amount of energy and focus I’d put into it. Other things were completely out of control, such as demands of work, traveling, entertaining, family, the pandemic, and everything that came from that (homeschooling, disruption of routines, fear of illness and death, little food, no paper products). The commitment I made to my education, my goal of achieving a 4.0, kept me on track and acted like a rock during the turbulent time of the pandemic.

To be studying organization development during the pandemic was thrilling. We could watch in real-time the effects that the external environment has on organizations. Nothing is immune to external forces, and seeing the way organizations responded was a daily case study. In my organization, the agility it took to create new operations and policies that sprang up and came to life showed how quickly an old organization could find fresh breath and respond to new threats was astonishing and enlightening.

My only regret, and I’m not sure that it’s a regret – is that I knew about OD years ago. And yet, I think the timing of my program couldn’t have been better. My experience working in hospitality, retail, health and fitness, and higher education provided me with so many occasions to consider the practice of OD.

I am incredibly proud of my accomplishment and am still in disbelief that I’m now a Penn State alum! WE ARE.