{"id":3879,"date":"2016-01-26T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=3879"},"modified":"2016-07-12T14:45:24","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T19:45:24","slug":"online-phd-helps-graduate-become-presidential-management-fellowship-finalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/online-phd-helps-graduate-become-presidential-management-fellowship-finalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Their Journey to the PhD: Twanna\u2019s Story in Human Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAME:<\/strong> Twanna Carter<\/p>\n

HOMETOWN:<\/strong> Helena, Ala.<\/p>\n

PROFESSION:<\/strong> Counseling<\/p>\n

DEGREE EARNED FROM CAPELLA UNIVERSITY: <\/strong>PhD in Human Services<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>
Dr. Twanna Carter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the late 1990s, Twanna Carter got a job working as an environmental health inspector in Jefferson County, Ala. She had previously served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and had taught science in Florida, but this job seemed to suit her particularly well. It wasn\u2019t so much the work, however, as the people that fascinated her: \u201cThe folks I encountered had mild mental illnesses or disabilities, and yet one of the things they always said to me was, \u2018I want to work. I want to work, just like you do,\u2019\u201d Carter recalls. \u201cIt didn\u2019t quite make sense to me, why they couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter decided she wanted to assist this population more directly. So she earned a master\u2019s in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Alabama-Birmingham and then went on to get a PhD in Human Services from Capella. Last spring, a year after she received her doctoral degree, Carter was selected as a Presidential Management Fellows<\/a> (PMF) program finalist. The two-year fellowship gives Carter the opportunity to work as a program analyst with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Here, Carter talks about the lessons she learned on the road to the PhD.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Military Background<\/h4>\n

Carter grew up in a military family that moved frequently, from Alabama to Germany, then Kentucky to Tennessee. \u201cWe literally followed my dad around the world,\u201d Carter says. \u201cI look back on it and I still think it was the best education there was.\u201d Eventually, she got a ROTC scholarship to Alabama A&M University, where she earned a bachelor\u2019s in zoology. After finishing her undergraduate degree in 1987, she went on active duty with the military for six years, assigned to the Corps of Engineers. \u201cIt was a complete shock,\u201d Carter says. \u201cBut they needed to add more women to the Corps and I had a minor in chemistry which somehow must have qualified me\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Assisting Others<\/h4>\n

Released from active service in 1994, Carter got a teaching certificate and took a job teaching science in Florida. But Alabama was her home, and in 1998 she moved to Birmingham. Her health department job introduced her to the populations she ultimately wanted to work with, but it was an internship begun in 2005 with the state Department of Rehabilitation Services that cemented her decision to interact with homeless folks, military veterans, and people with minor mental and physical disabilities. \u201cIt was so gratifying to help people move through the process of finding employment,\u201d Carter says. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like helping someone who hasn\u2019t seen their name on a paycheck in 15 years.\u201d She also assisted individuals with setting up bank accounts and learning to use computers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Practice of Her Own<\/h4>\n

Earning a master\u2019s had helped Carter get into the field of rehabilitation services. In 2006, she landed a job with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. \u201cThat was really special,\u201d she says, because both she and her father are veterans. But Carter quickly realized that moving up the ladder would require a PhD. A single parent with three children and a full-time job, she decided that Capella was the best option for her. \u201cOnline learning is not for the faint of heart,\u201d Carter says. \u201cYou have to be disciplined and you have to be organized.\u201d She often found herself reading while her kids were playing soccer or attending band practices.<\/p>\n

Carter also began researching the idea of launching her own counseling practice\u2014which required licensing and setting up a small business. A few years ago, she opened a private practice, Janelle Bush Carter Counseling and Consulting, named after her mother.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Becoming a Finalist<\/h4>\n

The opportunity to apply her education and experience on a bigger level ultimately led Carter to submit and application for the Presidential Management Fellowship. Five finalists with Capella degrees were named last spring, and Carter says she was stunned and honored to be among them\u2014after several rounds of interviews. This fall, she began working with HUD. \u201cIt\u2019s the job I wanted at the agency I wanted,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd my education at Capella clearly played a part in my being selected.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Capella University offers PhD and professional doctorate degree programs ranging from business to education and health to technology. Learn more about Capella\u2019s <\/em>online PhD programs<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Capella PhD in Human Services graduate shares how her doctoral degree helped her realize her career aspirations\u2014and be selected as a Presidential Management Fellowship finalist. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":3886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[320,151],"tags":[67,7],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3879"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4641,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions\/4641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}