Pursuing purpose with higher education

First-generation student earns doctoral degree

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 12^th, 2020

When someone enrolls in the doctoral program in educational leadership at California State University, Bakersfield, one of the first pieces of advice given is not to make any major life changes or shifts in career. The program is demanding, and requires students to juggle full-time jobs with rigorous doctoral coursework.

However, for Patrisia Espinoza, student in the Educational Leadership (Ed.D) Program, she didn’t quite get to follow the expected path.

Espinoza was the program manager/vice principal at Los Robles Elementary School in Porterville for four years. When the principal retired, Espinoza was offered the position.

“I may not have thought that was the ideal time at that point, but it really was,” Espinoza said.

She’d been a teacher for 10 years, an instructional coach, and had transitioned into a new district to begin her career as an administrator when she began to explore the idea of enrolling in a doctoral program.

“My reason for going into a doctoral program was to continue to grow in my profession,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza is a first-generation student, whose family has always valued education.

“We’ve always put education first,” Espinoza said. “My siblings and I figured out at a very young age that education would be the key out of poverty. Both of our parents were migrant field workers while we were growing up. We knew that in order to have more opportunities as we grew up we would need to pursue an education.”

Her parents, Samuel and Estela Espinoza, immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 80s; Neither of them had their high school diploma. They made many sacrifices for the family, so she always had a feeling that this would be the path she would take.

All three of Espinoza’s sisters are in the field of education. Her younger sister is an elementary teacher, and her two older sisters are both in administration. One is an assistant principal and the other is an elementary principal in Porterville.

Finding the right fit

When it came to shopping around for doctoral programs, she considered Fresno State, where she’d earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Espinoza hadn’t initially considered CSUB, since it was such a new program and Fresno was the same distance. But now she thinks that if she’d attended another school, like Fresno State, UCLA or USC, she wouldn’t have made the quality of relationships and friendships that she formed at CSUB.

Joining the program, Espinoza knew she wanted to focus on bilingual education and wasn’t necessarily sure what her dissertation would be, though, originally, she considered early literacy.

Espinoza said she “really appreciated the level of support at CSUB and the investment,” as the program and its professors helped focus her interest.

As Espinoza’s professor in the doctoral program, Dr. Kristina LaGue, professor and department chair of teacher education, said they developed an immediate connection once they discovered that she was an administrator at an elementary school in Dr. LaGue’s hometown, Porterville.

“Beyond that surface connection, it was evident that we both shared a deep passion and commitment for improving equity in schools and for advocating for our most vulnerable populations of students,” Dr. LaGue said.

“One of the biggest rewards for me as a principal is to serve in a community where the kids we serve are a reflection of me, and to be able to ensure that all of our students are provided with these opportunities and experiences,” Espinoza said.

Real-life applications

Throughout the program, Espinoza learned so much that was applicable to her role at the elementary school. It also helped her realize where she wants to go with her doctorate degree and what she wants to do, as far as the work that needs to be done in education.

One month after completing Dr. LaGue’s class, Dr. LaGue emailed her to see if she would be interested in teaching a course at CSUB. Espinoza had never considered it – that leap into being a professor.

“It was taking that next step, and teaching adults was another way to serve children,” Espinoza said.

She’s always loved teaching, so she was “really grateful for that opportunity.”

Espinoza, added that “Dr. LaGue has been a true inspiration and I am fortunate that I can count on her beyond the doctorate program.”

The first course Espinoza taught was online through Extended Education for a reading certificate. The second was a foundations of bilingualism course that is part of the CSUB Bilingual Authorization Program (BILA), which consists of three classes.

As she finishes her first BILA cohort as a professor in the next month, she adds that it was because of the “passion of the faculty” that she became a part of that.

Being an administrator and now professor, she was able to build the bridge between the university and K-12 system in order to respond to the need for certificated bilingual educators in the Porterville area.

Dr. Andrew Bukosky, assistant superintendent of Human Resources for Porterville Unified School District, also formed part of her dissertation committee and played an important role in establishing the first BILA cohort in Porterville.

“He has been an incredible mentor and I am so grateful for his continued support,” Espinosa said.

With 12 educators in that area receiving bilingual authorized certification, “this has definitely been one of the highlights,” Espinoza said, adding that it wasn’t so much about the degree itself, but the relationships and possibilities that come with the doctoral experience.

“Her knowledge and expertise in dual immersion instruction has been valuable as we have expanded our Bilingual Authorization program into the Porterville area under the direction of Dr. Adam Sawyer. She is a great example of a doctoral candidate who will continue to contribute to our university for many years to come,” Dr. LaGue said.

The final steps for a doctorate

The end of the semester is just around the corner and Espinoza said she’s still trying to wrap her mind around what that means. But, she added it will be very rewarding to offer this accomplishment to her parents.

She recently presented her dissertation on her mother’s birthday.

Due to COVID-19, she hasn’t been able to go to her parents’ house as much as she’d like, so to be able to present that was a special moment for her.

“I hope that they realize their sacrifices were not in vain,” she said of her parents and what this means for her family.

What her parents did for her and her siblings made a difference and they were able to multiply it.

Espinoza hasn’t been on this journey alone, though. She credited her support system, including her family, friends, committee, and cohort for helping her make it this far.

“I couldn’t have imagined the caliber of the committee that supported me. They were just phenomenal.”

Although she might have given her dissertation defense already, her dissertation chair, Dr. Mahmoud Suleiman and the others from the department continue to help her. Just a few days ago, Dr. Richard Wisman and Dr. Suleiman discussed with her the possibility of turning her dissertation into an article and getting it published.