1. Deidre Gray

2. Who is Deidre Gray?  My name is Deidre Gray and I am 41 years old.  I live in Gautier, MS, which is on the coast.  I graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall of 2011 with a bachelor's degree in Family Relations with emphasis in Child and Family Studies.  I currently work for a cellular company in south Mississippi and have been doing so for the last 13 years.  I volunteer at the local Boys’ and Girls’ club and serve as treasurer for my daughter’s middle school and secretary for my son’s high school.  After this course, I will have a masters degree in Family and Community Services (MAED).

3. Goals  I would like to work as a community service manager in a local community outreach program in my area such as the Red Cross or the Salvation Army and having a master’s would definitely provide the gateway to obtaining my career goal.  As I have worked in my current occupation for over a decade and I still have young children, I plan to continue to volunteer until I have built a solid resume that will land an entry-level position in a community entity. Although I do believe in following your dreams, I don’t believe in drastic moves or sudden changes. Planning is the better route.

4. My Family

5. EDU 671 Fundamental of Educational Research (EDU 671 )has been my most challenging class here at Ashford. I expected the class to be long and difficult, primarily focusing on building a complex proposal. However, I really enjoyed the class and the instructor taught the class in such clarity that I was very proud of myself at the end. In the class, I proposed a plan to improve the parental involvement of the Hispanic parents at the Boys and Girls Club of which I volunteer. The class taught me the skills I needed to locate an issue that needed amending, planning the solution and working with the staff and parents to complete it until the end.

6. One quote that symbolizes my belief about CCSS One quote that symbolizes my belief about CCSS is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King stated “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education” (Hansen, 2005). The CCSS were designed to develop critical- thinking skills that will prepare our students for success after high school where they will face challenges in today’s competitive world.

7. Field Work After work, I volunteer at the local Boys and Girls club and serve as treasurer for my daughter’s middle school PTO and secretary for my son’s high school PTO. My daughter also attends the Boys and Girls club after school program. At the club, I teach the RAT program, which stands for Reject All Tobacco.

8. Reference Hansen, Drew, D. (2005). Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers.