Graduate school isn’t easy. And for Tammy Samuels, there were even more hurdles to overcome as she navigated serious health issues and parented her three children while getting her doctorate online.
But Samuels, currently enrolled in the Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership (OCL) online program, has managed to thrive in her studies — impressing faculty and fellow students with her passion, drive and good humor. She has also carved out a community with her peers, despite living on the opposite coast from USC.
Samuels joined the program with a track record of work in higher education, but finding her way to this field wasn’t a straightforward journey. Born and raised in New Jersey, she completed her undergraduate studies at Rutgers University. While she was committed to running on the Division 1 track team, determining her career path was trickier.
“I changed my major three times, thinking I wanted to go into something related to business or sports management,” Samuels recalled.
It wasn’t just indecision, though. Samuels dealt with health issues early on in college, leading to an emergency appendectomy. She was academically dismissed due to her medical struggles but got an appeal to return during her sophomore year and finish her undergraduate degree.
Samuels’ first job out of college — a counseling position at Medgar Evers College in New York — shaped the trajectory of her career in higher education.
“I had an opportunity to work with women on welfare who were making the transition to college. I was basically their advisor, life coach, all the things,” she recalled.
Unfortunately, because the program was grant-funded, Samuels’ dream role was short-lived. So she took another counseling position at a community college in New Jersey. It was there that she set her sights on getting a graduate degree after a colleague advised her it would help her move up the career ladder. So, Samuels completed her Master of Arts in Counseling at Montclair State University.
Over the next few decades, Samuels ascended in her career, working at various academic institutions along the East Coast, including Wilson College, Rutgers University and Duke University. She also got married and started a family.
But over time, Samuels realized she had valuable skills she hadn’t fully tapped into. She discovered one of her favorite parts of her work was being a changemaker — whether through aiding her colleagues’ professional development, giving promotions or providing collective feedback, she said.
“I didn’t always see myself being a leader, but each time I stepped into a leadership position, I was always able to serve as a positive change agent,” Samuels said. “That was really exciting and rewarding for me.”
When the pandemic hit and “we were all home, isolated, for two years,” Samuels came across the OCL online program at USC Rossier School of Education. The focus on organizational change and leadership, coupled with the fact that the program was tailored to working professionals like herself, piqued Samuels’ interest.
Although Samuels got into the program, she initially decided to defer her enrollment. Her eldest daughter was heading off to college, and it seemed too expensive for them to both attend university at the same time. It was also an uncertain time, as she was in the hiring process to be Associate Dean of Talent and Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
Luckily, Samuels was able to snag the job — and find a way to make the OCL program fit within her schedule and budget.
“I love it,” Samuels said of the program. “I think it’s probably the one thing that saved me while I was waiting to get into [my new position] because I had an opportunity to be immersed in conversations that were intellectually stimulating.”
She also connected with her cohort despite the online format.
“One of the subcommittees that I found to be incredibly supportive was the Black Girl Magic Group,” she said. “That community of women continued to motivate and inspire me to complete the program because many of them were also working moms and executives who were navigating going back to school after several years [and] being in school online for the first time, like myself. All of that was really gratifying, essentially knowing that I wasn’t alone.”
The group organized a book club for East Coast members and even arranged an in-person meetup. Forming that community was one of the most rewarding benefits of entering the OCL program, Samuels emphasized, especially amid recurring health struggles. Her faculty and advisors also helped her prioritize her health while balancing her academic workload.
“I had two health scares, one where I actually ended up in the hospital after fainting,” Samuels recounted. “But the faculty were incredibly supportive. … Being given grace and compassion while … pursuing this degree was even more motivation to persist.”
Through her courses, Samuels has learned even more about leadership and education, already applying newfound skills to her current position. And while she’s happy with where she is at the moment — absorbed in interesting classes, bonding with her USC community and invested in a role she loves — she’s already thinking about what she’ll do after she graduates in 2025. Consultancy, nonprofit work and continued leadership in higher education are possibilities she’s considered for the future.
“I’m keeping my options open right now, as I just moved into this current executive role and I’m the only woman of color serving in the executive leadership for the business school,” Samuels said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity, so I want to be able to at least leave another thumbprint in this role.”
Learn more about the Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership (OCL) online program today.