Doctoral grad balances motherhood, teaching, research by prioritizing life, not work


April 22, 2022

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2022 graduates.

Michelle Glerum loves teaching: teaching students and teaching future teachers. Courtesy image of ASU grad Michelle Glerum "ASU was the perfect fit. I came back for my PhD because I had such wonderful experiences working with the English department faculty in my previous programs," said ASU doctoral grad Michelle Glerum. Download Full Image

Her goal is to create lessons that encourage students to think critically about world issues and help them compose sound and logical arguments.

Before entering the PhD program in English (English education) at Arizona State University, the former resident of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, taught at Saguaro High School and Scottsdale Community College.

During her doctoral studies, Glerum served as a teaching associate, where over the years she has taught introductory courses like ENG 101/102 First-Year Composition, as well as upper-division requirements for secondary English education majors: ENG 480 Methods of Teaching English Composition, ENG 482 Methods of Teaching Language, and ENG 471 Literature for Young Adults. She encourages students to see themselves as writers with ideas worth sharing. Glerum is also a fellow of the National Writing Project and taught for the Central Arizona Writing Project.

In 2021, Glerum received the Department of English Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for her excellence in teaching and contributions to students in the writing programs and English education.

“Along with her skill and aptitude as a scholar, she is truly an exceptional teacher," said Glerum’s mentor, Professor of English Jessica Early. “She is one of the strongest instructors we’ve had in our doctoral program.”

Glerum’s research focuses on language and literacy practices in secondary and post-secondary education as well as beginning teacher transitions. She successfully defended her dissertation, “Transitions, Tensions, and Retention Factors: The Value of Community and Support for Early Career English Educators,” on April 7 and will receive her doctorate on May 9.

We recently had a chance to talk to Glerum to find out more about her PhD journey and her plans after graduation.

Question: What was your “aha” moment, when you realized you wanted to study in your field? (Might be while you were at ASU or earlier.)

Answer: As an undergraduate, I took Jessica Early’s Methods of Teaching Composition course and I absolutely loved it. I was majoring in English literature and minoring in sociology, and her course inspired me and made me realize how much I enjoyed teaching English language arts. I decided to continue my education by getting my master's in curriculum and instruction (in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at ASU) so that I could teach secondary English. I spent seven wonderful years teaching high school English at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, before I came back to pursue my PhD in English education. It wasn’t until I was teaching Methods of Teaching Composition myself, during my second year in the program, that I realized just how much I enjoyed teaching future English teachers and engaging in research about literacy and teacher preparation. 

Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you, that changed your perspective?

A: It was harder than I anticipated to navigate motherhood and academia and to figure out how to balance both roles semi-successfully. In the beginning, I tried to do everything at once – take care of a newborn, teach, find time to write – and I often felt like I was failing. As a result, I learned to be more intentional with my time and to set clear boundaries for myself, which has been helpful for me as both a mother and a teacher/researcher. 

Q: Why did you choose ASU?

A: I initially came to ASU in large part because of the weather. Growing up in New Jersey, I’d had enough of the cold, drawn-out winters, so I was looking for a change of scenery and a great English program. ASU was the perfect fit. I came back for my PhD because I had such wonderful experiences working with the English department faculty in my previous programs. 

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

A: I was able to work with so many incredible professors at ASU and each of them taught me valuable, important lessons. In particular, I am so grateful to Jessica Early for her endless support and wisdom. It is impossible to put into words how much she has taught me over the past decade. Everything I have learned from her has felt important, but one of the most important lessons has been how to teach and mentor in a way that makes students feel seen, heard and valued. 

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?

A: Prioritize your life and not just your work. 

Q: What was your favorite spot for power studying? 

A: In all honesty, I do not have the temperament or attention span for power studying; I like to take my time and incorporate lots of breaks. I am particularly fond of working in the little garden hidden away behind the Piper Writers House. The tranquil atmosphere is perfect for writing and thinking.

Q: What are your plans after graduation? 

A: I am planning to enjoy time and travels with my family. Additionally, I will continue my research on early career communities of practice as a method for cultivating sustainable teaching practices and offering critical support for first-year English language arts teachers. 

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle? 

A: I recently read “What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing” by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry and I learned so much about how critical early childhood experiences are in terms of shaping our brains and behaviors. I think everyone should read this book. I can’t recommend it enough. If I had $40 million, I would use it to fund early childhood initiatives as well as research and programming to support conscious, trauma-informed, and healing-centered parenting and teaching. I think this would have an incredible effect on our society by disrupting damaging dynamics and generational cycles and, instead, offering a better way to move forward.

Written by Sheila Luna

Kristen LaRue-Sandler

Manager, marketing + communications, Department of English

480-965-7611

ASU global security grad to use degree for military purposes


April 22, 2022

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2022 graduates.

With a background in the military and an interest to expand her knowledge of current events and emerging threats, Haley Hollimon decided to pursue a Master of Arts in global security from Arizona State University.  Haley Hollimon Download Full Image

This May, she will graduate with her MA from ASU Online in the School of Global Studies and Politics.

“I found the pervasiveness of technology to the national/global security and operating environments an on-going trend that is here to stay. I would like to be a leader in this field in the future,” Hollimon said.

Hollimon graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 2018, and was then commissioned in the Military Intelligence Corps. She currently attends the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course and is being promoted to captain following her graduation. 

Hollimon said she pursued her master’s in global security because she was eager to learn more, know more and do more.

From studying in the global security program, Hollimon said that she gained valuable lessons — academically and personally — that she will take into the next chapter of her life.

Between balancing a full-time job and classes to earn her master’s degree, Hollimon said she has developed her time management skills. Learning to be intentional with how she spends her time has been crucial in managing her work and school load.

She said the reading that impacted her ideas the most was "LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media" by Emerson Brooking and Peter Singer, professor of practice in the Center on the Future of War and the School of Politics and Global Studies. She was able to utilize the message conveyed from the text and implement it in her personal life, as well as her career.

“It allowed me to understand how social media can be weaponized by our adversaries well before Russia’s current information operations surrounding Ukraine. Prior to this reading, I believed that misinformation and disinformation only targeted the uneducated and ignorant, but now I understand that information operations are complex and three dimensional,” Hollimon said. 

Hollimon said that the time spent earning her master’s degree was challenging but rewarding, as it comes with short-term and long-term uses.

In the short-term, Hollimon is able to apply her degree to her position as an intelligence officer to better understand and educate her subordinates about their adversaries, including Iranian and North Korean hackers, and the contemporary operating environment as a whole.

Hollimon plans to also look for ways to implement her degree for the rest of her life, as she hopes to use it to become a leader in the intelligence community and hopefully work for an agency later in her career.

“This degree program will allow me to better explain and contextualize problems and issues to military leaders and policymakers. It will allow me to participate in critical military and national security conferences,” Hollimon said.

“For the years immediately after completing my degree, I would like to use the degree to explore more specified, competitive positions for intelligence officers, such as internship opportunities,” Hollimon said.

Ten years from now, assuming promotion trends and the size of the armed forces remain the same, Hollimon hopes to be serving in the army as a major.

Hollimon looks forward to post-graduation where she will lead and mentor a larger population of soldiers with “authority, responsibility and accountability in each assignment,” she said.

Student Journalist, School of Politics and Global Studies

805-603-7619