On November 20, Mary Gallagher, an alum of the first DLE Retreat in 2008, added a new honorific to her name—doctor.

Earning her Ph.D. was a dream come true—a dream that was six years in the making. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Mary made the final revisions recommended by her committee and submitted her 300+ page dissertation for publication.

She officially graduates this December with a Doctor of Philosophy in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. After all this time in school, “it’s hard to believe that I’m on the other side,” she marvels.

Mary, who lives in Rockville, MD, pursued her doctoral degree while working full-time as the assistant director of the Center for Academic Success at the Universities at Shady Grove. Her professional work became the inspiration for her dissertation research, which focused on women of color pursuing a computing degree through vertical transfer (or transfer from a two-year community college to a four-year university).

Since 2007, when Mary was first introduced to DLE Founder Linda Dulye through the inaugural Winston Fisher Seminar at Syracuse University (her undergraduate alma mater and Linda’s, too), she has counted Linda and the DLE community as a font of inspiration and mentorship. During the inaugural 2008 DLE Retreat, Mary made connections and learned skills that she has continued to both rely and reflect on throughout her career.

Mary reflects, “Most important among those lessons was time management, prioritizing and goal setting.” Even with the uncertainty and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, she was determined to wrap up her studies in 2020, even pushing her timeline forward to make it happen. It often meant writing late into the night after a full day of work, but the hard work paid off. And the pandemic delivered a plus as Mary defended her dissertation virtually and was able to include a much larger community in her defense!

Now, with her dissertation complete, DOCTOR Mary looks forward to taking her next steps professionally.

December 22, 2020
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: DR. MARY GALLAGHER
On November 20, Mary Gallagher, an alum of the first DLE Retreat in 2008, added a new honorific to her name—doctor. […]
December 22, 2020
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES: FROM HOMELESSNESS TO A FIRST-TIME HOMEOWNER
A year ago, DLE Community Member Ivy Rodriguez Campos went from day dreaming about owning a house to being homeless. Today, she […]
December 22, 2020
MY DLE STORY BLOG: 3 MYTH BUSTERS FOR CAREER OWNERSHIP
Submitted by Advisory Board Member Lexi Aruck. . Note: Lex is a three-time alum of the DLE Retreat. She currently works at Anheuser-Busch InBev […]
December 22, 2020
GRATEFUL FOR THE DLE’S SUPPORT, ALUM EARNS PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECT LICENSE
Submitted by DLE’16 Alum Frank Fuentes, Principal, Fuentes Architecture, Hollywood, FL I cannot even begin to describe the rollercoaster of […]
December 22, 2020
MY DLE STORY: STEPPING UP TO CAREER OWNERSHIP
Submitted by DLE Advisory Board Member Marcus Coleman, Financial Service Representative, Raymond James, Pittsfield, MA. The Dulye Leadership Experience (DLE) community is […]