As a self-defined lifelong learner, Destiny Hastings D’25 was intrigued when a friend told her he was enrolled in Saint Mary’s Ed.D. in Leadership program. She decided to learn more.
“I said, ‘This looks really cool!’ My bachelor’s and master’s degrees are in business administration, and I was attracted to the leadership aspect, it looked like a degree I could use anywhere. I looked at the course offerings and descriptions and thought it would be a culmination of both my professional and educational experience. It culminated into that final piece.”
Dr. Hastings describes her experience in one word, “fantastic.” “The cohort model is great. This is a virtual program, so I had classmates from all over the world, and we were able to move together through this,” she said. “Our cohort got close quickly. We were more than just classmates, we are friends, and these are people I know are going to be in my life forever. We celebrated together, grieved losses of parents together. We supported one another. That model, I think, adds an additional layer of support.
“And the staff is phenomenal,” she added. “When you sign up, you think, ‘Oh my gosh; how am I going to do this with the research needed and the dissertation process at the end of this,’ but by the time I got to that step, I was ready. I had been very well prepared to take my comp exam and move into my proposal and dissertation stage. The faculty and staff were happy to hop on calls when I needed help, encouraging in their feedback, and just smart, loving, kind people.
Dr. Hastings is currently director of business services for The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), which provides education, research, advocacy, and networking opportunities for executives and professionals who lead trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofits. “There is an association for every industry, and we are the association they belong to,” she explained, adding that she works on the for-profit side on marketing strategies for its business solutions.
In her day-to-day work, Dr. Hastings loves the variety of people she interacts with, but also the varied aspects of her job. She enjoys the creativity involved with developing marketing messaging and positioning strategies to maximize audience impact.
“I found this degree applicable from my first class, advanced research writing,” Dr. Hastings said. “I was in a different role at the time, but I was always interested in different generations in the workplace, so I started doing research, and in the workplace, it gave me an opportunity to see people in a different way and meet them where they are.”
If someone is considering getting a doctoral degree, Dr. Hastings encourages them to attend Saint Mary’s. She advises, “It will be hard. You will push yourself in ways you didn’t know you could, and you’ll grow from it. It’s more than an education, it’s personal development, and, if you allow yourself, you’ll look at the world in a different way.
“Staff and faculty are there to help you every step of the way. You’ll never do this alone,” she added. “The feeling of accomplishment when you are done is worth it; this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, working full time and traveling for my job, on top of the coursework. I’m so proud of myself, and others have been proud of — and inspired by — me. Others have read the work that I’ve done; my friend has millennial children, and she said, ‘You’ve helped me understand my own kids better.’ Others have told me, ‘You are helping me look at things differently.’ Your impact goes far beyond what you even realize.”
