Bronco Spotlight: Justin Arnold
Ph.D. in educational leadership, 2017
Extension Educator at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
I provide community and economic development education to an 11-county region in Nebraska as an Extension Educator.
What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job?
The most rewarding part is helping communities identify opportunities and focus their efforts to achieve their development goals. The most challenging part is finding enough time to serve a lot of communities.
What activities, resources, or people helped you prepare for your career?
I was hoping to leverage the PhD program as a way to transition careers from consulting in business to working as a researcher and teacher in higher education. The field project and an independent study opportunity allowed me to do small projects in higher education, which made me feel more prepared to make the transition.
What advice do you have for students looking for their career after college?
Going into a PhD, the outcome is really being able to be a better teacher, researcher and program leader. The sooner you can understand that goal and figure out how to transform yourself into that new role, the easier the process will be. This is not a grad or undergrad where you learn a field, this is a PhD where you become an expert and develop a research agenda.