A springboard to doctoral studies
Jessica Fry
Higher Education M.S.Ed., 2016
Before Penn GSE: An entry-level career services position at a regional public university
After Penn GSE: Ph.D. student and inaugural Dean's Scholar Fellow at the University of Texas, Austin
"The faculty challenged me, but they gave me the feedback and support so that, after my year at Penn GSE, I was ready to start on my path to being a professor."
When I enrolled in Penn GSE’s master’s program in higher education, I never imagined that within two years I would be in Austin, Texas, interacting with state lawmakers about higher education policy and finance — and pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Texas.
But then I took my first course with Penn GSE Professor Joni Finney.
Dr. Finney showed me how education policy and education finance shape who has access to higher education, and she gave me the tools to critically analyze those policies and practices. Her classes were a revelation that left me wanting to be a researcher, identifying meaningful ways to better support first-generation college students
As part of my doctoral research, I witness the creation of higher education policy firsthand. When the Texas legislature debates how to pay for the state's colleges, I'm at the Capitol. After a hearing or a floor debate ends, I talk to lawmakers and their staffers about their work.
I approach every research question by trying to understand its policy and financial implications. I've worked with a community college policy center. I have published papers on the effect of Texas's law allowing guns to be carried on campus. And I’m currently studying the long-term impact of dual-enrollment programs on college success.
Looking back from my vantage at a Ph.D. program, I'm even more impressed by how hands-on Penn GSE's faculty was with my cohort of master's students. The faculty challenged me, but they gave me the feedback and support so that, after my year at Penn GSE, I was ready to start on my path to being a professor.