In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. 

Incoming Ph.D. student Alexandra Lamb will join the Neag School this fall as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars. The program provides full tuition for four years plus a stipend to promising Ph.D. candidates. Dean’s Doctoral Scholars have the opportunity to conduct interdisciplinary research with leading experts in the field of education while earning a doctoral degree from UConn in curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, or educational psychology. For more information about the Dean’s Doctoral Scholars program, visit s.uconn.edu/neagdds.

Hometown: I am proudly from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Where were you working previous to Neag School? I was a middle school humanities teacher and technology integrator at the Berkeley Carroll School, an independent school in Brooklyn, N.Y. I was also the director of the Creative Arts Program, a summer arts camp at Berkeley Carroll.

What appealed to you about the Neag School and/or the Dean’s Doctoral Scholar Program? The Neag School offered an opportunity to reflect and think deeply in a community of dedicated and creative scholars about leadership and the organizational systems in American education. UConn shows its dedication to growth and developing a community of preeminent thinkers in the world of education through its Dean’s Doctoral Scholars Program. That was something I very much wanted to be a part of.

What are your research interests and what will be your specific Ph.D. area of study at the Neag School? I am in the Learning, Leadership, and Educational Policy Program with a concentration in leadership and education policy. I believe that one of the core challenges in the current American educational system is a crisis of leadership. I am looking to research how we can better select for leaders and put them in positions to effect change.

What do you hope to ultimately achieve in pursuing your doctoral research into these particular areas of focus at the Neag School? I hope to change the leadership structures and pathways in urban schools to allow for stronger, more supportive, and more successful educational communities.

“The Neag School offered an opportunity to reflect and think deeply in a community of dedicated and creative scholars about leadership and the organizational systems in American education.”

What does it mean to you to be named a Dean’s Doctoral Scholar? It’s a great honor. It’s exciting to be recognized for my past, current, and future contributions to the scholarly and K-12 educational communities.   

Describe your proudest career moment. Launching and sustaining a successful and fully integrated 1:1 iPad program at my current school. Coaching teachers, students, and families to use technology in meaningful and diverse ways has been a great challenge and an important achievement.

What are your hobbies? I love getting outside, riding my bike, and running. I love a new challenge!

When do you find yourself at your happiest? When I’m with my family and friends celebrating holidays and milestone moments.

What is something that most people don’t know about you? As an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College, I studied abroad in Dunedin, New Zealand, at the University of Otago.

Read other installments of the 10 Questions series here.