For Sheryl Doades, the motivation behind her decision to pursue a master’s degree in arts administration is both professional and personal. Naturally, juggling these competing priorities requires a certain amount of finesse.
“Working full-time and being a part-time student is definitely a balancing act,” says Doades. “It has challenged me to step up my game in time management and to create boundaries around my bandwidth and my priorities.”
Doades currently works as a writing and editing specialist with Indiana University’s Enrollment Marketing Communications team. As an IU employee, she has been able to apply her tuition benefit toward a Master of Arts in Arts Administration (MAAA) from the O’Neill School. Knowing that the tuition benefit is part of her total compensation package, Doades says, is a great incentive to put it to use.
The benefits of this perk are not one-sided. Doades says that her master’s coursework has helped her to become a better employee, creating opportunities for professional development within her current role and for advancing her career within the University.
“From audience development to financial management to leadership and teamwork frameworks, the skills I’ve learned in the MAAA program help me be a better contributor and teammate in my current role and help me feel more confident in taking on leadership roles.”
Though she’s changed jobs at IU since starting her master’s program three years ago, Doades says that her departments have always been supportive, including allowing her to take advantage of flextime to attend classes during the day.
“Arts administration is about connection. It’s connecting art and audiences, and people with opportunities,” says Doades.
One of her favorite classes so far has been Arts Education Policy with Dr. Ursula Kuhar. “Most of my career has been in theatre for young audiences and children’s theatre, so it’s one of my core interest areas. And Dr. K does so much work in Indiana and at the federal level with arts education policy that the sheer amount of knowledge, experience, and connection she brings to the class are incredible.”
One unexpected benefit of pursuing a master’s degree for Doades has been the opportunity to set an example for her daughter.
“I’m a mom to an 8-year-old, which adds to the balancing act and usually means homework after bedtime and in the early morning hours before waking her up for school,” says Doades. Though this can be stressful, she adds, “It’s been great to model for my daughter what it looks like to go after something you’re passionate about, to always be learning, and to try new and difficult things.”
Plus, she jokes, “She finds it fun that I have more homework than she does.”
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