"Every course is so well designed. The curriculum is solid and everything is really well laid out. I also appreciated the faculty – everyone was incredibly passionate about their work, and they were good practitioners in the field to be learning from. It was a great program to be part of!"

With a master’s in music performance from Stony Brook under her belt, Allison began working full-time at SBU’s Honors College, where she’d previously held a graduate assistantship. It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with working in higher education.

She still loved music – and always will – but interacting with hardworking students every day made her realize that joining an orchestra might not be her calling after all.

Once she decided to pursue a second master’s in Higher Education Administration, she never looked back.

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What are your thoughts on the format of Stony Brook’s HEA program?

I really appreciated the flexibility of the coursework. The biggest thing for me was being able to take asynchronous online classes. This was my first experience with remote learning, and the faculty did a good job keeping the students engaged. I also lived close to campus and occasionally opted to take a course in person, just for the variety in teaching styles. That was an added perk for me. Overall, it was just such a solid program with excellent faculty and a great format – I really wish Stony Brook had a doctoral program too!

If you had to pick just one, which course was your favorite?

I can’t stress enough how much the enrollment management course changed my career trajectory. I had an interest in data, but that course set the foundation for me to become the data-driven leader that I am today. In every position I’ve had since then, I have sought to explore and analyze data to improve operations. I even gave a presentation on using data for student success at a national conference. I often think about that course and how grateful I am to the professor for inspiring me.

What was the topic of your project seminar paper?

I analyzed how the curriculum in music conservatories could be modernized to better serve musicians going into the industry. It hadn’t changed in years, so I was focusing on things like becoming more tech savvy and incorporating more courses on how musicians can market themselves. There’s a lot of talk about orchestras being a dying entity, so it’s vital for training programs to become responsive to the needs of today's audiences. I even spoke to a thought leader about my paper at the College Music Society conference shortly after finishing it, and she asked to reference my work in her research, which was really cool.

What have you accomplished since earning your MA in Higher Education Administration?

I’ve held several positions at a few different universities – I’ve been a staff assistant, a program coordinator, and now I've moved up to assistant director of Honors Programs at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Having fallen in love with higher education through Stony Brook’s Honors College, being in that area again is like getting back to my roots. It’s come full circle for me. I’ve also had the honor of speaking at a couple of conferences for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Would you recommend this program to others who are working in higher education or looking to pursue the field?

I would highly recommend it. There is no reason not to do it – it's going to make you a better administrator. Now more than ever, we need practitioners in the field who know what they're doing. From theories to case studies to best practices, there is a science to higher education and how we're doing it, and it’s really good to be aware of that. I never stopped applying the things that I learned throughout this program.