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Dr. Wendy Carter has a
passion for helping people succeed. Raised in a home challenged
by poverty, alcoholism, and abuse, along with four siblings, the
statistics said that Dr. Carter would not graduate high school
or attend college. Ignoring those statistics, she attended Stanford
University after graduating from the academically rigorous Boston
Latin Academy. That was her escape and her promise of a brighter
future. She earned both a B.A. and M.A. from Stanford in six years – even
after becoming a single parent.
To say Dr. Carter understands the obstacles to success
is an understatement. She adopted author Julia Cameron’ s ( The Artist’s Way) personal
philosophy "Leap and the net will appear," to encourage herself
throughout her educational career. Earning five degrees from Stanford,
Carnegie Mellon, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, she persevered
despite the costs and seemingly insurmountable challenges. Dr.
Carter was excited when she was accepted to Carnegie Mellon’s School
of Urban and Public Affairs for their master’s program in Management
and Public Policy. But as a single parent without financial aid
the news was bittersweet. Again, she leapt, and the net appeared
with a Patricia Harris Fellowship.
Next, Dr. Carter found funding to attend the nationally-recognizedr
Ph.D. program in sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Securing a six-year
research assistantship, Dr. Carter honed the skills she now markets
to become the first in her cohort to finish her course-work inrn the doctoral program. Even with funding, she found out the hard
way that other conce
s are just as relevant. Her first attempt
to pass her qualifying exams failed. Her second didn’t — despite
suffering from depression and managing the rigors of single parenthood.
Research and her own educational trials showed Dr.
Carter that 50 of all students drop out of graduate school and
17% drop out during the thesis and the dissertation phase. In response
to this startling statistic, she developed an interactive
tutorial program designed to alleviate the high attrition rate
among graduate students. She also developed a powerful presentation
that not only motivates and encourages students, but also gives
them workable solutions to their own educational crises.
Today, Dr. Carter successfully manages many roles – parent, educator, business
owner and motivational speaker. Her daughter graduated cum laude from Howard
University . Dr. Carter continues to be an inspiration and invaluable resource
to students and educators throughout the country.
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