After four years of continuous education, Chris Paddlety earned his Doctorate of Education in Administration and Leadership (Ed.D) and is on the path of taking the next step.
Paddlety attended Southern Nazarene University (SNU) through online classes. SNU is a Christian university located in Bethany, Okla. The course Paddlety took was six to nine hours a week, with six-week increments.
Paddlety wanted to get his doctorate years ago; however, his love for football slowed down his education. Three years ago he had the opportunity to take the first step and he jumped on it. Paddlety had to find time in between teaching, coaching and school to finish his work, but that didn’t stop him from getting good grades.
“I’m proud to say that I had a 4.0 when I did that,” Paddlety said. “I didn’t have anything below an A.”
As Paddlety passed all of his classes, he still has edits to do on his final paper to get it ready for publishing. He has been working on edits and corrections for the past two months.
“I still had to do research and write a dissertation, a paper,” Paddlety said. “It was 168 pages.”
His dissertation is about Native Americans and graduate school and what they need to succeed and persevere.
Throughout all of Paddlety’s studies, as time devoting as it can be, Paddlety’s wife stuck by his side, picking him up when he felt down or celebrating with him when he was feeling good about something.
“But probably my number one support came from my wife, she kept me grounded,” Paddlety said. “I would like to give shoutouts and props to her just for supporting me through the process.”
Paddlety, now finished with his classes, is going to have his graduation ceremony in December. He aspires to go through the administration pathway by starting as assistant principal, then eventually a superintendent.
“Just something where I can work and advance in the education field,” Paddlety said.
Santa Fe congratulates Chris Paddlety for finishing his doctoral degree.
