4 minute read
Serving through Educational Opportunities
By Grace Eades '23
Born in Oklahoma and having grown up in the Oklahoma City public school system, Dr. Carma Barlow '23 was fortunate enough to have an incredibly rich experience with education, in spite of socioeconomic and systemic obstacles she faced. Looking back, this ignited much of her passion for accessible education that would shape and define her career moving forward.
Carma graduated from Oklahoma Christian University, pursuing a degree in English Writing. However, following her graduation she struggled with what she wanted to do next. These were the circumstances under which she decided to sign up for Teach For America, a nonprofit organization that trains and places teachers in underprivileged communities in order to combat educational inequity. Carma was sent to Houston, where she discovered just how life changing the program was, not only for the students, but for her own life as well.
“In those two years that I committed to Teach For America, I really fell in love with teaching,” said Carma. “It was the first time that I was aware of gaps in education for underserved communities and students.”
Carma spent six years teaching at schools in Houston, Texas, before returning to Oklahoma in order to start a family with her husband. However, her passion for educational equity never waned. She began to work on staff at Teach For America, helping to open a branch in Oklahoma City. She did this for five years before recognizing that she longed to be back in a school environment.
At that point, Carma worked to open an elementary school for the Santa Fe South charter in Oklahoma City. She stayed there for eight years, but seeing its success, realized her desire to shift focus.
“The things that were happening in the school that I was in and the district that I was in with Santa Fe South were really good. We were getting really strong outcomes for students, and I just kept thinking that someone should be doing this in my neighborhood.”
With a career so focused on education, Carma considered pursuing her own advanced degree. An email advertising SNU’s Doctorate in Education Administration and Leadership program finally prompted her to take the next step to enroll, and she graduated with her doctorate in 2023.
“The thing that I really appreciated about my experience at SNU is, obviously, getting to study all of the things in education that I geek out on. But getting to think about those things through a Christian lens was especially refreshing for me. It helped me think through how I’m approaching my work, and where my identities are intersecting, and how those things play out in my work a lot. And so I think it gave me another perspective that really aligned to my own values in ways that also allowed me professional growth.”
When reflecting on the way God’s will has been done in her life and how faith has played a role in her journey, Carma stated that faith is absolutely everything.
“Faith has allowed me to make it to this point. Faith is what has fueled me in getting through the SNU program, and in getting to this point. I started the SNU program two months after my mom had died, and so it was a really hard time for me. I think faith is what brought me through that time, and the faith that my cohort members had also carried me through that time, as I was also able to lean on their faith as well.”
After graduating from SNU’s Educational Leadership program, Carma has continued her educational work. She is currently working to open a science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (or STEAM) focused elementary school called RISE STEAM Academy in Northeast Oklahoma City.
“We recently have been approved for sponsorship with Oklahoma City public schools, so we are working to secure facilities and funding so that we can open in the fall of 2025. She stated that she is looking forward to “the partnerships I’m able to develop for RISE STEAM Academy through my connections with SNU. I have a lot of faith in those partnerships and excitement about the good that can come from that.”
Learn more at risesteamacadmey.weebly.com
