As an undergraduate, Alexandria Feaster knew she wanted to pursue a master’s degree.
Choosing the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s online master of education program, she says, prepared her to lead at her Homer, Louisiana, campus and equipped her to pursue a doctorate of education.
Feaster earned her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Specialist concentration, in 2019 and quickly transitioned to an educational specialist program.
But after starting the program, Feaster knew she could take on more. Feaster is now on her way to a doctorate of education while continuing to teach full time in Homer, Louisiana.
Through the online master’s program, she says, she was able to stretch herself beyond her coursework. Assistant Professor Dr. Valin Jordan gave Feaster that opportunity.
“I personally needed that,” Feaster says. “She really pushes you to go out of your comfort zone, to try things that are new or challenging.”
For Feaster, that meant preparing a paper that would be presented at the Bergamo Conference on Curriculum Theory and Classroom Practice on being a Black woman rising in academia.
Dr. Jordan’s scholarship and research delve into the experiences of Black women in academia, often reflecting from elementary through university. As a professor and graduate coordinator, she says she sees part of her role as providing mentorship to support the growth of black and brown women.
Having the opportunity to publish, in Feaster’s case, meant a heightened candidacy as she applied for post-graduate programs.
Feaster says she’s been able to rise to the expectations of her doctoral program, in part, because of her publication experience and the mentorship of Dr. Jordan.
“With my program, I want to be taken seriously. I’m young; I’m only 24,” Feaster says. “With research and having papers presented at conferences, I want my research to be respected.”
As a teacher, Feaster leads in and out of the classroom having chaired a faculty committee, served as a leadership team member, sponsored the high school cheer squad, and acted as a teacher leader during her first few years of teaching.
Feaster says her paper gave her the opportunity to reflect on her students’ experiences, as well as her own and solidified the importance of her role as a teacher and mentor.
“In many areas of the country, there isn’t a lot of black representation in education. Through undergrad, I never found a mentor who was a black female, who’d followed the same path as me who could give me pointers from a black female. I was just trying to do what I thought was best,” she says.
“I think about my students and especially my boys. There are very few black males teaching in their schools. It pushes me to be better.”
Feaster expects to complete her doctorate of education in Fall 2022.
