A Life-Changing Degree

The University of Mary's "Billboard Mom" shares how she balanced a growing family and a growing career.

Marijke Leible and her classmates share a rainbow. Not literally, of course. But when fellow members of her doctoral group at the University of Mary comes across a picture or an image of a rainbow, they share it with their classmates because it has come to have a deep symbolic meaning to this ‘friends-for-life’ group.

“When we see a rainbow, we take a picture and share within our group,” Marijke said. “The rainbow symbolizes purpose and hope for the future. I will never see a rainbow without thinking of them.”

‘Them’ are those in Marijke’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership cohort at the University of Mary, from which Marijke graduated in 2018.

“I have always felt a tug toward a career in education,” she said. Originally, while at Baylor University, Marijke studied premedicine and hoped to attend medical school. However, after graduation, she began as a paraprofessional in a high school special education classroom in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

After being in the classroom, she realized education was her passion. So she returned to school and earned her master’s degree in elementary education and spent eight years teaching in Albuquerque. When her family moved to Bismarck in 2012 to be closer to her husband’s family, Marijke had three children and was expecting another.

“So I decided to stay home with them for a while. I appreciated being home with my kids,” she said, “but I missed teaching.”

A few years later, as she began to think about applying for a teaching position, she became intrigued by the University of Mary’s Educational Leadership doctoral program.

“One evening while making dinner, I listened to a radio interview with Dr. Carmelita Lamb talking about the program and immediately felt the nudge to apply,” she said.

Marijke said she loved teaching but was excited at the idea of supporting other teachers the way so many of her colleagues had supported her in the past. Shortly after, she applied and was accepted into the program.

When she did, Carmelita promised Marijke the program and degree would be “life-changing.”

It had been many years since Marijke had taken classes, and to her, it felt like a completely different world of learning.

“With the invaluable support from professors like Dr. Mike Taylor, Dr. Brenda Tufte, Dr. Lamb, and Dr. Rod Jonas and the encouragement from my cohort, I learned more than I ever thought possible,” she said.

“Although my decision to go back to school started with my desire to become a better educator, it evolved into the goal of becoming a better person. I will forever be grateful for my University of Mary family.”

Marijke knows first-hand the challenges that come with returning to earn a degree when one has family responsibilities.

“When I started the doctorate program, my kids were ages 8, 6, 4, and 2,” she said. “When I was not at Mary, I enjoyed spending the days with Henry and Lucy at the library story times, playing at the parks, meeting friends, and doing art projects at home.” “ Observing my peers in the cohort, I was inspired and empowered. These ‘cheerleaders’ became an integral part of my life during those three years.

As a rule, Marijke said, she tried not to do her schoolwork while caring for her kids. Instead, she worked late into the night and early in the morning during the workweek. She also spent many Saturdays and Sundays at the library or in her office on campus researching her dissertation and doing coursework.

“Often, my husband would drop off dinner or treats for me as I worked,” she said. “Sometimes my oldest son, Will, would hang out with me in my office and read or play games on his computer as I worked. Balancing being a full-time student and mom was difficult and I constantly looked for ways to do both at the same time.”

This innovative doctoral program allows for coursework and dissertation research to be done simultaneously.

“When each semester ended, I used the school breaks to completely focus on my dissertation work,” she said. “This schedule left me little down time but helped me finish in three years. I took advantage of free Wi-Fi at libraries and coffee shops in South Dakota, Colorado, and Texas, as we visited family over the holidays.

“I wrote most of my first draft of my dissertation on road trips down to Texas as my husband drove. Every hour or so, I would describe to him what I was writing or ask him if a paragraph made sense. It seems funny now as I look back at those times, but those were precious memories.” Marijke believes that education is one of the purest professions, for which she sees evidence every day in her work.

“Teachers work hard to find the ‘combination’ to unlock learning in their students,” she said. “When it’s stuck, the lock can take a long while to open. My motivation for earning this degree was to learn how to ‘unlock the lock.’”

The desire to support students is what motivated her to earn her doctorate.

“I wanted to learn more about how to help students succeed in school and life. When I graduated, I trusted that God would lead me to a position that would allow me to use the skills and knowledge I learned in the doctorate program. In my current position at the North Dakota Teacher Support System, I have numerous opportunities for me to apply these skills. As Dr. Lamb said years ago, the doctorate program is a life changer.”

Marijke was gracious enough to allow the University of Mary to use an image of her with her children at her graduation to symbolize success for the university’s adult learners – including on a billboard in Bismarck.

She laughed as she recalled the impression this made on her kids.

“The kids were very surprised and a little confused to see their faces on huge billboards in Bismarck. However, Henry said he loved it, and Lucy shared that she was excited to have her friends see her picture.

“Joey, my now-10-year-old, said he feels like the luckiest kid in the world to have a mom who works hard and loves her family that much,” she said, adding, “I will reward him with lots of hugs and desserts for that answer.

“My oldest, who attended my dissertation defense, responded, ‘You know, Mom, usually you say you are proud of me and my brothers and sister for the things we do. Well, I now am proud of you.’ I hope that their memories of me working on my doctorate are positive, inspiring, and happy.

“Even though it was tough, it was well worth it.”