In the Reflections series, the School of Education asks alumni to look back on their distinguished and fascinating lives and careers.
A business owner, marketer, visual artist, adult educator, writer/editor, and career coach, Nora Carrol holds both a B.F.A (1971) and M.S. in Adult Education (1991) from Syracuse University. She also has three professional certificates in distance learning, nonprofit management, and public policy analysis.
As an educator, Carrol has served as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland University College and taught courses on entrepreneurship for the University of the District of Columbia and on interactive marketing for Johns Hopkins University’s Advanced Academic Programs.
As a writer, Carrol has published with PBS, Distance Learning Magazine, the International Journal of University Adult Education, and elsewhere. From 1998 to 2002, she was Educational Technology and Society’s Associate Editor for North America.
Carrol has more than 20 years’ experience in adult education, and in recent years she has offered career communications consultancy, especially for older adults and professionals in transition. In this capacity, she has worked with Career Gateway; Jewish Council on the Aging of Washington, DC; MyMentor; University of Maryland University College (now UMD Global Campus); and The Resume Place (Washington, DC).
What is your fondest memory from your time at the School of Education?
I earned an M.S. in Adult Education from SOE and relished my role in the Office of Professional Development, directed by Scott Shablak G’73, who is still a friend. In collegial fashion, we created a “change planning/management” process that each SOE department could use to identify and assess market and competitive challenges. It was still in use 10 years after I graduated.
The master’s degree included four electives, allowing any graduate student to have a topical focus outside of education. I chose the “Innovation Management” program, led by Dr. David Wilemon, in the newly renamed Whitman School of Management. My research and writing activities were the basis for developing and teaching marketing, consumer behavior, and organizational development courses at several universities.
What is something from your career that makes you most proud?
I am grateful to have taught thousands of adult learners, both in the credit-granting and professional development environments. That effort has segued into serving as a career coach and mentor for 50+ individuals, career-changers, and others in transition.
What is the biggest change you have seen in education during your lifetime?
Regrettably, I have seen a positive turned negative. At first, more inclusive policies that recruited women and minorities were good, in that they rejected selection based on identity, in favor of capabilities and talent. That supportive environment has been replaced with vilification, rejection of standards, and worst of all, reintroduction of identity as the driver of institutional decisions.
What gives you hope?
I am hoping that higher and adult education is turning the political corner, so that our learners can concentrate on achievement. They will be competing in a global workplace.
What advice do you have for an SOE student just starting on their career path?
Select at least one course that includes an internship or other experiential opportunity, and document everything you accomplish. Then network, network, network, with alumni groups, local trade associations, and job fairs.
Offering to complete a project on spec, or pro bono, can introduce your skills/knowledge. You may also be able to get a toe in the door by working with someone already in-house. Think creatively!