On December 14, Syreeta Taylor will conclude a journey for her master’s degree that is many years in the making.
Taylor began coursework for a graduate certificate in special education in 2016 and took extra classes to apply towards a master’s degree in the same field. She worked with faculty in the Cato College of Education, Kristen Beach, on a graduate assistantship, implementing teacher observations and vocabulary interventions at a CMS partnership school. It was successful, so they continued summer reading interventions with additional community partners, including the YMCA and Aldersgate.
Taylor was an eager student with experience from her career and an elementary education undergraduate degree, and Dr. Beach allowed her to present their research that year. She had completed all of the required classes for the certificate except for an internship, when her family situation changed and they needed more of her support.
Taylor is the mother to three children, and a shift in her spouse’s work schedule to out of town travel meant juggling her work with her family’s daily needs, when the youngest was not yet in kindergarten. Classes and an internship were not going to fit into the routine.
She grew up in a house with routines thanks to her mom. “My mom was a stickler for a clean house, so I knew how to do that; she was tougher than the military,” said Taylor.
Her First Career:
the U.S. Marine Corps
Taylor is originally from Philadelphia, or “the birthplace of The Marines,” as she will tell you. She went to a Pennsylvania university after high school, but when it wasn’t a great fit she sought a new path into a career and joined The Marines. Taylor served nine years in the United States Marine Corp, following in her father’s footsteps.
“My dad is a Marine, and I was always taught it was the hardest branch, so I thought if I can get through this, then whatever other hurdles and obstacles I have to get through in life should be easy,” said Taylor.
“It was a challenge– there’s not a lot of women, not a lot of minority women– so I wanted to push myself. I grew up as the only girl, a middle kid of two brothers, so I felt at home in the Marine Corps. My dad used to wake us up without an alarm, singing military songs and he also wore his camouflage utilities around the house,” said Taylor. “I knew military terminology and how to salute as a little kid, so boot camp for me wasn’t that bad.”
Taylor served on a panel for awareness around the needs of veterans.
Taylor found success in The Marines. “Every time I went to training schools in the military, I graduated in the top three or top ten percent. I was number two in sergeant’s class. When I left the military I was a staff sergeant, or E6, and I could have retired at that rank,” said Taylor.
She was also a leader in raising awareness for Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and served as an equal opportunity representative for her squadron. “It was a stepping stone to help me realize the issue of MST– people who had been thorough things needed someone to talk to. We used to host events on diversity and how to show support to people– I wanted everyone to have camaraderie and learn about everyone’s culture, so it was an aspect of the job that I really enjoyed,” said Taylor.
A Transition
Years after Taylor finished her military career, her oldest daughter enrolled at Charlotte as a freshman, and will be graduating in May. Two years ago, Taylor took a full time position at UNC Charlotte as the executive assistant to the dean of the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences (CHESS). She had a great experience as a student and graduate assistant, but years had passed since she last took classes and she assumed she would have to start over with her credits.
Taylor presenting her capstone research on Military Sexual Trauma.
In a committee meeting, Taylor’s name came up between Vaughn Schmutz, associate professor of Sociology, and Beach. Schmutz now worked with Taylor in CHESS, and Beach told him Taylor was an exemplary grad student and researcher that didn’t get to finish a credential. Schmutz decided they needed to find a way to utilize at least some of Taylor’s credits for a degree that she could complete, and found a solution in Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST).
“Dr. Schmutz helped me transition from an education-focused degree to IDST, to utilize my love for education and tie in the social issues that are so important to me. Sociology has become such an important part of my IDST degree,” said Taylor. They were able to apply most of her completed credits toward the new degree.
And when Taylor’s GI Bill benefits ran out, one of her professors, LuAnn Jordan, was there to help find financial resources. “Without Dr. Jordan my time here would have stopped short, she worked on scholarships with me and called the VA and I was able to continue financially with the program,” said Taylor.
Interdisciplinary Studies
Taylor’s research capstone brought her passions together for supporting veterans through MST and bringing awareness to the issue. “UNC Charlotte initially was a school founded for veterans, but we can never talk about it enough,” said Taylor. “So many students are not aware of the available resources. Military sexual trauma is a huge problem that happens to a great deal of veterans, so my presentation is about MST and how we can look for ways to help survivors.”
Taylor’s graduation begins their status as a Legacy family, with more Charlotte graduations to come from her children.
Taylor has actively supported Green Dot training as an employee to address bystander intervention and other issues around sexual assault. “I’m hoping to parlay this research into a grant opportunity. I want to talk more to the VA about how many veterans are going through these training programs they offer and institute surveys that measure the veteran’s success after the program is over. Resources are great if they’re utilized, but if they’re not doing what they need to do, we need ideas to help people combat this traumatic experience,” said Taylor.
Taylor knows her MST research is relevant to non-military, traditional age college students too: for service members who experienced MST, they are typically 18-24– the same age range in college, facing the same barriers, and it impacts their lives in similar fashion.
Gratitude to Charlotte
“One of the things I have learned being here as a student is that UNC Charlotte has some of the most amazing faculty. They go above and beyond for their students– writing up awards, not letting you fall by the wayside–I never had any other professor look at my financial aid package and say ‘no,’ instead it’s ‘we’re going to find a way to keep you in school.’ Faculty here care so much, and if I ever get the opportunity to teach here, I’m going to take that with me,” said Taylor.
“It’s not just what you teach, but how you connect with your students, it’s something your students take with them beyond their education here,” said Taylor. That connection is what she hopes her middle child finds, as he is a high school senior applying to attend Charlotte for electrical engineering.
Taylor is exploring teaching too. “I would love to teach a class or two in Interdisciplinary Studies and I’m considering potentially pursuing a doctorate program in public policy or health psychology,” she said.
That’s just one of the reasons Taylor is so excited to represent the Graduate School as a bell ringer at the Saturday afternoon ceremony. “UNC Charlotte faculty and staff have given so much to me, it’s my honor to show my niner pride and to be a part of this ceremony as a bell ringer,” said Taylor. “I’m so excited to ring this bell.”
