I firmly believe in the concept of being a lifelong learner. Personally, I'm thoroughly addicted to education.
My educational background:
Ph.D. (Currently Enrolled)
Games have been a deep interest of mine for most of my life. As a professional in the gaming industry, I feel further driven to learn more about how people approach them. I heard about the Cognitive Studies Program in the College of Education at the University of Washington and knew that it could help me delve deeper into the topic.
Thus far, I've completed 32 credit hours and hope to soon advance to prospective candidacy, the next step in the Ph.D. program.
I recently partnered with a new advisor: Jennifer C. Stone. (My former advisor, Elizabeth Dutro, had moved to an Ohio university.)
Folk regularly ask me how long the program takes. There's no easy answer. I'm attending part time while holding down a full time job. A bit challenging, but manageable. I think I have about a year more of courses. Perhaps another year to two years to complete my comprehensive examinations. Dissertations take a highly variable amount of time. The school requires 27 credit hours for it. I think I can write it in a year. So, by my best estimates, I have three to four years left before I'm "Dr. Gwen."
M.B.A. September 2001
For most of my courses, I attended the Southcenter (Tukwila, WA) campus. I took a couple of classes on-line. My experiences were very positive. The classes focused on real-world business situations and issues. UoP impressed me so much as a student, I applied to teach there (see Teacher).
M.A. in English, June 1996
The English Department offered a wide variety of courses. My graduate teaching assistantship gave me my first experiences as a teacher. These were halcyon days.
B.A. in English, Summa Cum Laude, 1993
University Honors Scholar
The incredible faculty and small classes of the Honors Program made my undergraduate years a joy. My capstone Honors project was a game: Shipwreck!
Plus, I've taken a smattering of evening courses on a variety of topics ranging from bellydancing to herbs.