Jessica Hagan

My name is Jessica Hagan and I am a current doctoral student in the Community College Leadership and Development Program (CCLDP) at Morgan State University. I also work at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD as an Administrative Aide for the Student Support Services Trio Program. This is a federally funded grant program that is designed to give support, and assistance, to disadvantaged students that meet specific criteria. My role is to do anything I can to assist the students and staff in my department. I have been in this position for a year and I enjoy it very much.

Although I am currently working as an administrative aide, I have a both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology. I have experience teaching, conducting research, and in program management. I have worked in both university and community college settings, and have found that my interests are most aligned with the community college. For this reason, I have chosen to participate in the CCLDP so that I may increase my opportunities for career advancement at the community college.

At this point my goal is to spend some time on the education side of the community college, either as faculty or administration on the faculty side. I am most interested in the sciences, and would like to focus in that area. After gaining experience in that area, I would like to progress to higher administrative positions within the college where I can then implement the knowledge I have gained in my education and work experience.

My major research interest is currently in the area of STEM education. I would like to examine ways to boost STEM education in order to increase the STEM workforce. There are many aspects to this that could be examined, and I am really just beginning to explore the current research in this area.