Undergrad to doctorate at CSUB

Jason Watkins shares his path to education and what’s ahead

By California State University, Bakersfield

April 30^th, 2021

Newly titled, Dr. Jason Watkins received his doctorate in educational leadership at California State University, Bakersfield, but he didn’t always necessarily have education or school in mind for the path he wanted to follow.

“Out of high school, I went away to school and totally flopped out -- I was in over my head academically. Plus I just needed to grow up,” said Dr. Watkins.

He went to Pepperdine University for one year, then decided he was never going back to school again.

“My uncle actually gave me some advice. He said, ‘Don’t go back to school until you know why you want to be there.’ And to this day, I thought it was some of the best advice I’ve ever received,” said Dr. Watkins.

From there, Watkins lived a lot of life in between. He worked in sales and battled health issues. It was then that he made some decisions for what he was going to do with the next chapter of his life.

Watkins told himself, “If I’m able to get through this, I want to do something that’s meaningful. I don’t want to spend my time working for something I don’t believe in.”

“I was always very clear I wanted to do something in the helping professions. I was a psychology major, and I never knew quite where it would take me, to be honest, but I couldn’t be happier in terms of where I am today” said Watkins.

Watkins didn’t worry about the end result so much but took advantage of opportunities as they came.

He finished his bachelor’s degree in psychology and got a master’s in school counseling. Watkins loved the energy and environment of a college campus.

“I also thought about my own time in school and thought if I had been better connected to people, I think along the way, it would have been easier,” said Watkins.

While he had received an offer from Bakersfield City Schools that would have been permanent, he knew he wanted to be at CSUB, which was a temporary position at the time.

Eventually, he became permanent, but upon first starting, he was doing outreach and workshops. Over time, his role has developed – he was promoted up to the disability counselor and eventually the assistant director.

From there, he got involved with the monthly food distributions and basic needs program on campus. That was something Watkins really loved and looked forward to each month.

Dr. Thomas Wallace, vice president for student affairs at CSUB, also started to ask Watkins to step into more active roles within the Food Pantry and basic needs areas.

“It is a luxury to have someone with expertise in the area of basic needs, and he is equally passionate about student success. The CSUB campus is fortunate to have Jason directing our efforts in meeting the needs of our students,” said Dr. Wallace.

Now, as the assistant director for basic needs, a title he added to his resumé last summer, Watkins tied the research in his dissertation to the work and experience he’s had as a leader on campus.

When Watkins finished his master’s degree, he knew he wasn’t done with school just yet.

“I know a big part of this program was that leadership piece, and so I wanted to expand my leadership skills,” added Watkins.

There’s never a perfect time to go back to school and finally, Watkins stopped waiting for that time after a former colleague mentioned applying at the Celebrate CSUB event.

“It’s not been easy. There are things you willingly sacrifice. You go, ‘okay, I’m not going to be able to do this because I’m doing this.’ And then there are things that get sacrificed and not necessarily because you want them to,” Watkins said, in terms of family and work.

“Any time you start balancing all of that, you’re not the best version of yourself. You try to be, but it’s definitely a challenge,” he added.

Throughout his time in the program, he has learned to be very intentional about things and make the most of his time – reading or doing homework on a free lunch break or playing with his daughter until she’d go to bed, so then he could read.

Watkins recently presented his dissertation, a big step on the road to getting his doctoral degree.

“I’m very proud of the research I’ve done on this dissertation, and I’m grateful for the students who participated in it,” said Watkins.

The well-known statistic is that at least 40% of students are food insecure. He looked at the numbers at CSUB – knowing that more than 4,000 students are food insecure, yet the Food Pantry was seeing about 400 per week.

Through his research, he found that stigma around the services offered and how people apply it to their self-concept influenced how food pantries are used.

“I was more interested in the people who have those feelings and still use the resource. The counselor part of me was just really trying to understand that,” said Watkins.

In his study, he focused on that experience of the stigma and interviewed students who shared about using the pantry, as well as how the last year with COVID-19 has changed things. It has changed some of the feelings and stigma around shame and embarrassment – now, it’s about getting help.

Originally, Watkins thought his research would take place during the program and he would never do it again. But, he found it to be a rewarding time and would like to continue that process as he goes.

While he’s proud of the research he’s done, “I think honestly, more than anything, I’m proud of the connections I’ve made with the students and the one-on-ones,” said Watkins.

As a psych professor already, teaching on campus since 2015, Watkins understands what it’s like to be in his students’ shoes. He knows there are a lot of factors at play when it comes to learning in the classroom.

Watkins still has students from a couple years ago that will see a video and send to him, because it reminded them of a time in class. Connecting with students, for him, is the best part of the job.

His advice for students today?

“Don’t just jump on the first thing that comes. And it’s okay to change along the way. I think it helps me relate, I think it helps for me to normalize that uncertainty for them,” said Watkins.

So far, it has worked for him.

As CSUB continues its 50th anniversary celebration, Watkins recognizes that he has now graduated with his undergrad, his master’s and now his Ed.D. at the university.

Watkins said it feels good to know that he will be able to walk in this year’s ceremony.

There were times he felt he was cutting it close to finish but now that it’s over, he can’t recall a time feeling more relieved.

Watkins has now gotten all of his degrees at CSUB. The university has played a big role in his story.

“There’s just something about this campus that is really special to me,” Watkins noted.

Although Watkins is aware that CSUB continues to grow and expand, he loves that he still knows most people on campus or at least has some knowledge of them, and even knows their children.

“It’s a really rewarding place to work in that sense. I don’t know how else to say it other than it feels like home. It really just feels right working here,” said Watkins.