Ever heard of an English teacher being a doctor? Well, now you have, recently one of our staff members in the English department at Colton High School, received their doctorate degree. That teacher is Sneha Sharma, a 25 year old teacher at Colton High School.

Sharma has received all of her four degrees such as her bachelor’s degree and her teacher credentials from UC Riverside. She even received her doctorate degree at Brandman University in two and a half years.

She stated that the reason she wanted to get her Doctorate degree in education is, “Because of my determination to learn more about leadership and organizational change.” I also asked her if she would like to go any further with her degree and she stated, “I would like to continue learning how to be a better teacher and I truly believe that the knowledge and skills I gained from my program will help me with this. I am also hoping to transition into becoming more of a teacher leader by coordinating professional development opportunities for teachers and supporting interdepartmental collaboration.”

Being a teacher and a student could be very difficult to balance. Sharma stated, “It was difficult to get this degree because I need to balance my coursework with my responsibilities as a teacher. In order to do this, I needed to manage my time carefully, keep a written planner, and constantly complete assignments and tasks throughout the week rather than procrastinating. I also tend to worry about the future, and I needed to take care of my mental health by meditating, spending time with family and friends, and reading inspiring books and stories. I think the most difficult part of completing the doctorate program was consistently believing I could actually complete it. There were many moments when I doubted myself and my abilities and I really need to push through my self-doubt in order to succeed. My fellow teachers and students motivated me by constantly reminding me that I was capable of success.”

Overall I wish the best of luck to Dr. Sharma and I hope she does succeed on going further on with her doctorate degree.