Continuing to Learn So That Others Can Follow

It has never been in Jessica Culver’s nature to stop learning. Having already attained a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees, she is now pursuing a Doctor of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning at the University of Arkansas.

Culver, a native of Northwest Arkansas, lives in Ozark, a small community an hour south of Fayetteville, where she works at Ozark High School teaching civics/economics and concurrent college credit history courses.

“I am in my 22nd year of teaching in the Arkansas Public School system,” Culver said. “I have two teenage sons who go to this school and are in my classroom each day, and my husband is also in education, so our whole lives are education, all day, every day. Part of my time is spent working with concurrent students—high schoolers who are also college students. [With an Ed.D. in ADLL] I hope to continue to work even more with students as they begin their college lives. The ADLL cohort in education and community college was a perfect fit for what I'm already doing and what I want to keep doing.”

It might seem unusual for someone who already holds graduate degrees in history and library media to continue their education, but Culver is determined to learn more so that those she teaches can also grow in their educational journey. Culver wanted to find a way to earn her doctorate while continuing to work as a teacher, and the ADLL program was a great opportunity for that.

“Whatever I received a doctorate in, I wanted to keep being an educator, keep working with educators or working with students as they entered college,” she said. “As someone who wants or needs to keep working, I simply can't do full-time in-person classes. I did a lot of Google searching on what program would really fit those requirements, and I came across the U of A’s ADLL program. I love being an educator, and I did not want to stop being one, so I chose a program that fit my life. I'm very happy with my job and my geographic location, but I wanted a doctorate, also. For someone like that, this is the program for me.”

The Ed.D. in ADLL offered Culver a doctoral degree in education, which she calls her “heart and soul.” Many of the courses she teaches have a heavy focus on community college education. The concurrent college credit courses Culver teaches allow students to earn full college credit while still attending high school.

“I'm very passionate about helping them,” she said. “This is such a monumental time in their lives. This program offered me a degree in education and also allowed me to gain more knowledge about community colleges and the students I work with who are just starting that process.”

Culver’s dedication doesn’t disappear when school ends each year. She was a 2024 Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, traveling on National Geographic’s Quest through Alaska this summer. She will use that experience throughout the school year with lessons in her classroom. She is a frequent curriculum writer and workshop presenter at local, state, and national levels, and is an Arkansas Master Economics Teacher, a US Institute of Peace Mentor Teacher, an iCivics Teacher, a National History Day Teacher, a member of the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies and National Council for the Social Studies, a JumpStart Arkansas board member, and a past Fulbright Teacher for Global Classrooms. She also partners with educational groups to record podcasts, evaluate curriculum, participate in professional development, and present webinars.

“I was selected as the 2021 Arkansas Ag in the Classroom award winner for incorporating agriculture into my social studies classroom,” she said. “I'm also a 2024 Fund for Teachers Fellow. In that capacity, I traveled through New England and Canada this summer, studying their history and economics. I am a National Constitution Center Teacher Fellow, and I will be traveling to the National Constitution Center on Constitution Day. I participate in these and many other organizations because I believe in the power of strong connections. These strong connections build the support I need to be a successful doctoral student.”

Online learning, for Culver, gives her the freedom to balance work, family, and education. By taking her Chromebook to band competitions or school basketball games, she can participate in her family’s life while still carving out time to study, slipping reading assignments and homework activities into what might otherwise have been unused time.

The online degree program is not without challenges which she faces head-on. The first challenge Culver addressed was getting to know her classmates. She and others in her cohort call one another, follow each other on social media and use programs such as WhatsApp to communicate with each other, share ideas, post reminders of deadlines, and offer support.

“We've all been there for each other,” Culver said. “We started with 12 in my cohort, and there are five of us left, so we've become very close. We all have different strengths and talents, so it does help that areas I lack in, they can help me, or areas they lack in, I can help them. It's a challenge, but we've got it down.”

Another challenge has been overcoming a habit of trying to do everything without asking for help. Culver would often try to take on everything by herself, but pursuing her doctorate made her realize she could not do it alone.

“It's OK to ask for help and that’s actually going to be beneficial to my career and my education,” she said. “So, the learning to say, ‘I can't do everything, I need help.’ That's really probably the biggest impact so far.”

Culver is one of 33 recipients of the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship for online U of A students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship began with small gifts from many people who passionately believe in the transformative power of education. It was created in 2018 to financially assist students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate online degree programs.

“My biggest advice is, I don't care how old you are, what form your degree is, or if you're not even full time like me. There are scholarships. Apply for all of them. That's what I've done, and I've just been piecing those together as I go. I have received two scholarships from the Arkansas Retired Teachers that have helped me work on my doctorate. I also received the W.E. Manning Scholarship to help me out this upcoming year and my school district will pay for six hours of college classes. I am very thankful for the Manning scholarship.  As a working adult, scholarships that allow me to pursue my education are incredibly helpful.  I look forward to eventually receiving my doctorate through the University of Arkansas ADLL program, and I appreciate the opportunity to receive the Manning scholarship.”