I wrote this for my Facebook wall on 2016-12-07. Reposted on Thripp.com on 2016-12-11.

All done with schoolwork! My first semester being a Ph.D. student [Education Ph.D., Instructional Technology track at University of Central Florida] went well. Just need to focus more on my research in future semesters.

It was very interesting working with peers on designing facility management training materials for the National Park Service and studying the standardized test scores of Florida 7th grade civics students. For independent work in another class, I have also learned a lot about threshold concepts. As part of my assistantship, I graded over 100 assignments of undergraduates in EME 2040: Introduction to Technology for Educators, and contributed key materials to several major grant proposals for joint work between the College of Education and Human Performance and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The shocking and sad part of the semester was that the son of my Master’s advisor and mentor, Dr. Bobby Hoffman, passed away. I cannot imagine losing a child who is only age 30… I know that as my father’s only child, it would tear him apart to lose me. Prayers be with Dr. Hoffman and his family in this holiday season.