The beginning of my educational journey was a challenge. Coming up with an innovation plan was a challenge. I knew what was missing but how I was going to put it together and communicate it was what worried me the most. I’ve long felt that online learning support for adult learners was needed to get them prepared for learning. As educators, we're part of the Del Mar College (DMC) community's thought process we agree on what needs to be done. The challenge has been who what department will do it. All agree that this will help students and that it's needed.  What has been a challenge is how do we get this approved and who will pay for it? How do we make this happen? I was starting to feel overwhelmed with the task; however, the book Influencer - The New Science of Leading Change was a great source of inspiration on how to approach it. 

 

An important part of my educational journey was with my group. The A-Team Collaboration Experience —comprising Shemida Gill, Elizabeth Goffney, Marie Lockett, Saria Nixon, and myself—formed organically during our first semester and has evolved into a supportive learning community. This collaboration has been extremely beneficial to me and to get their thoughts and inputs, especially since they work in education. What I've learned: it's not a quick sell—you must persist. You need to keep asking the questions of what we can do better and continually share the message. Not everyone will agree, and they may have different ideas of how to go about it, but I think it's something that you need to keep talking about.

 

I’ve also learned and developed a deeper understanding of growth mindset not just as a concept for students, but as a leadership framework. I can see that growth mindset in leadership means embracing challenges, learning from failure, seeking feedback, persevering through obstacles, adapting to new information, celebrating effort, and being positive about development (Dweck, 2006). The key insight: "Not everyone will agree, and they may have different ideas of how to go about it, but I definitely think it's something that you need to keep talking about." You've discovered that finding funding and support requires understanding campus dynamics and intentionality around data—both common themes and specific metrics matter for DMC campus decision-making.

 

A very valuable lesson I’ve learned is the importance of numbers. In preparing my PL Plan, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with campus leaders to hear their thoughts on the direction that the campus is going or should go. I was very fortunate to have support and co-workers willing to share their experience and ideas. A common theme that emerged were: one, being intentional about what I do, and second, understanding the data. In fact, over and over, I heard that the data was key to getting things done on the DMC campus. Moving forward I plan to be intentional in communicating with ongoing dialogue. My PL Plan has changed but I will continue to update it and work on collaborating with other campus colleagues.

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