That’s why Horrison-Gurley, in the tradition of others before her, shared her good news with the more than 12,100 members of PhinisheD/FinishEdD, a Facebook group page launched in January 2017 by Dr. Daniel Jean, executive director of the Educational Opportunity Fund Program and Academic Development at Montclair State University.
Dr. Daniel Jean
The road to earning a doctor of education or a doctor of philosophy is arduous, a journey on which “you need support, you need encouragement,” said Horrison-Gurley, a wife and mother of three who once stopped out of her education leadership and management program at Capella University due to family issues and felt like giving up near the end because of financial challenges and programmatic policy changes.
“I ran across the Facebook page on somebody else’s profile about a year and a half ago and decided to check it out, and joined,” said Horrison-Gurley, who works as director of multicultural development and a deputy Title IX coordinator at Ohio Northern University. “I’m a first-generation, and nobody else in my family has navigated this before. And going to school online is a different journey from brick and mortar. I felt I wasn’t alone, having that support group there rooting me on to finish.”
In that regard, PhinisheD/FinishEdD is doing exactly what Jean envisioned. Although primarily intended for doctoral-degree seekers and holders who are people of color or first-generation, the private page has members from various ethnic groups in countries beyond the United States, including Canada, China, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. About 70 percent are women.
“I noticed others using Facebook as a toy, not a tool,” said Jean. “I set it up as a motivation and resource page, and by the end of the first month I had 1,000 members. I started updating it more and posting pictures, and it just took off and has become an unbelievable network that helps people stay on task and be motivated.”
