Meet Dr. Danielle B. Jubanyik, a Rowan alumna and Sicklerville, NJ (Camden County) native with her Ed.D. in educational leadership. Danielle is currently working at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development as the State Director for Adult Education & Literacy Services. She is responsible for $20 million worth of funds that are used to help New Jersey adults attain a stronger education and hopefully lead to a brighter future. Learn how Rowan’s Ed.D. program helped prepare her for making a powerful impact in the New Jersey community.
Danielle started her Rowan University journey 20 years ago, finishing her undergrad with a B.A. in English with a secondary education certification in 2003. Five years later, she earned her M.Ed. in teacher leadership with a writing arts concentration, and then completed her Ed.D. in 2013.
“Education has always been a passion of mine,” said Danielle. “One of my fondest memories is playing school as a child over summer breaks.” Danielle’s passion for education was easily matched at Rowan — a fact she knew early on as her mom attended the school when it was known as Glassboro State College. It became a “no-brainer” for her to attend, pairing the school’s positive reputation with its affordability.
“The rigor for this doctorate was intense, the amount of research requirements helped me to become a stronger writer and speaker, and the cohort portion allowed me to grow from others with different perspectives,” Danielle revealed. The cohort allows students to build off one another in the program, providing an experience with diversity and multiple facets for students to grow from.
At the beginning of the program you conduct research into a topic of your choosing associated with education, leading you to write the research portion (Chapter 1) of what will become a dissertation. Once this portion is completed, it must be presented to a dissertation chair (chosen by the student) for review and approval. “Presenting to the dissertation chair allows them to judge whether you can read, write, research, synthesize information and demonstrate your dedication,” Danielle explained.
Following this initial check-point you continue with the required coursework, with each class acting as a different puzzle piece for the dissertation. “You may begin to meet folks in-person and may be doing surveys or phone interviews,” said Danielle, referring to the bulk of the program. “In another class you’ll learn about social justice — potentially writing a chapter about why it’s important to learn about the perceptions and professional development people are receiving to produce a well-versed teacher.”
Once you’re finished writing the dissertation, you present a Rowan-formatted package to a dissertation committee (a group of individuals selected by the student to review and critique the work). After passing their approval, you schedule the dissertation symposium. This open
event allows the student to present all findings while arguing their research to a committee that will judge whether you’re ready to receive the title of doctor.
The experiences Danielle had throughout her time in the Ed.D. program prepared her for her current role as the State Director for Adult Education & Literacy Services. As a representative for the state of New Jersey in Washington, D.C. she needs to hold strong communication skills that allow her to defend her views and argue for her opinions. “All of these pieces of the Ed.D. program: multitudes of research, the rigor, the accountability, speaking components all factor into my job,” said Danielle. Rowan’s Ed.D. program provides students all of these opportunities for an impactful career that can help change lives for the better.
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Group opened the door of opportunity for Transfer Post to become more known and get their name out there with other popular local bands. Here’s a story of how a talented self-taught musician, was provided with every opportunity and made his aspirations a reality.
Christina, a lifelong Prof, found her love for teaching at an early age and knew Rowan University would be the school to help her achieve this dream. “I knew Rowan was the choice for me,” said Christina. “I was most impressed with the devotion its faculty and staff have towards education and truly teaching it like a calling.” During her time within the 
complete a 
working towards an Ed.D while still gaining that higher education.
Kathy Vause shares her own experience as a parent on how she helped her recently graduated daughter adjust to “adulting.” 
“When you’ve been parenting for eighteen years, you’re just so used to having your student around,” says Cindy Bitzer, mother of two Rowan Students; senior business major Lauren Bitzer and senior computer science major Josh Bitzer. “It’s okay to be concerned about your student’s grades, social life, and other aspects of the college experience, but I’ve learned to recognize that you can’t manage their whole life.”
Through her involvement at Rowan, Shivani became connected with EY’s recruiters, leading to an internship at the company. She held the internship while finishing her graduate program; eventually ending with an offer for a full-time position. “The reason I got this job was because of Rowan and having the opportunity to work alongside the EY recruiters,” Shivani revealed. Through the MBA program, Shivani got to work alongside similar minded people – students who want to be there and see you achieve your goals.
During Shivani’s freshman year she quickly took the initiative, joining various clubs including the 
time to transfer to a four-year institution was approaching. I needed to decide quickly and be absolutely certain I made the right choice. Eventually I came to the aviation industry – settling on the idea that I wanted to become a pilot. This decision lead me to a university out in northern Arizona. 
I just didn’t know of any other options that would fit me.
Rowan I received a student worker position as a digital content contributor for Rowan’s Division of Student Affairs. A position I received from interacting with one of my professors (who I now work with). She inspired me to pursue various aspects of public relations – eventually leading me to my passions in 
First-generation college students, Chase will major in biological sciences within the 
At Rowan University, we require at least one letter of recommendation and we accept up to five. So, who should be writing your student’s letter of recommendation?!
Coming from a small town, I was not exposed to many careers that I could possibly commit to one day. Rowan first accepted me as an Exploratory Studies major, which helped me to explore different classes that may have interested me. My advisor recommended I take Essentials of Psychology and I fell in love with the subject. 
As a Psychology major, I have already accomplished things I never thought I could. I was the President of the 
colleges I wanted to go to. Did I want a big school or small school? Did I want to live in an urban area? Rural? Suburban? I had no idea. 
Now what? I had already bought a sweatshirt, I told everyone this is where I was going. I felt so embarrassed and just let down. 
Now what? I still knew Rowan was where I wanted to be, despite being denied the first time around. I felt confident in the courses I took at my community college and had a stellar GPA. I told myself that there is no way I could be denied again. 
Around the time she discovered the article, Jo was part of a class called New Ventures Development, where students expand on an idea for a potential startup business or product, and experience the process of bringing it to life. “In that class, I came up with the concept of a personal filtration system within a water bottle, called RefresH2O,” Jo says. “Wherever you are – hiking, spending time outdoors – you can scoop up water from a nearby body of water, and it will be filtered fresh. This will alleviate our plastic usage, and make us wiser about how we source our water.” Another class, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, helped Jo finalize the marketing plan and details for her product, including the target market and purpose. “I wanted to make a product that even a three year old could use. Everyone needs clean water — it’s a human right, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that,” she explains.
Her future plans include owning her own environmentally sustainable holdings or manufacturing company, and possibly even attending graduate school for a degree in engineering management, to continue to grow. She advises freshmen coming into the field to not let the idea of ‘perfection’ interfere with your goals. “‘Good’ is good enough; just get your name and idea out in the world and continue to work on your idea as you progress,” she says. “And keep track of your commitments! Juggling school work, being on the track team and my internship, senior year has been the most challenging year yet, but planning it all out and prioritizing made it a lot better.”
“Participating in social activities is the best way to make friends,” says Ahmad Kindawi, a first-generation college student (now graduate!) from Syria, who rents a house off-campus, within walking distance of campus. Ahmad graduated with a master’s degree in history from the 
Commuter and first-generation college student (now graduate!) Cheyenne Rickabaugh of Cape May, NJ (Cape May County) says the best way to make friends at college is, “Show up to things! Talk in class! Not during lecture, though.” She also says that the best way to get the most out of your college experience is to, “Just get out there and do things! Have fun.” Congrats, Cheyenne, on earning your geography degree from the 
Coming in as an exploratory studies major really helped me to solidify what I wanted to do as a career.
was a high school senior I felt the pressure of this in the back of my mind. I picked the school farthest away in an environment nothing like my current one because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. If I could go back and give myself any advice it would be to not pick a school for anyone but myself. I was too busy focusing on fitting the image, that I didn’t realize I wasn’t ready to go 8 hours from home. For some people going away is the fresh start that they need, but it wasn’t for me and that’s okay. Transferring to Rowan allowed me to grow and succeed in ways I never imagined. I’ve studied abroad in Europe, held local, state, and federal internships, and met some of my best friends. The biggest lesson to be learned is that there is no one size fits all college experience and to choose a college that best helps you grow.
share my journey. To see the first generation alums and get their support made me feel welcomed and a sense of belonging.
we experienced was guest policies, specifically people staying the night. But we talked through it immediately.” – Alayna 
“I chose Rowan because it was closer to home and I did not want to be too far from my family. I also chose to come here because of 
