The journey of choosing to pursue, and actually pursuing doctorate are very difficult and individual. In this episode, I had a panel of three adapted physical activity (APA) doctoral students from across the nation discuss their journeys to get a doctorate in the field. The three panelists included: Chloe Simpson (West Virginia University), Thomas Wilson (The Ohio State University), and Justin Bueche (Old Dominion University)Each of these young scholars are a part of a newly formulated APA Consortium. This APA Consortium aims to train 28 high quality and competent scholars at the doctoral degree level at nine universities across the country, to serve as higher education faculty, and train pre-service physical education teachers and related service professionals to appropriately educate youth with disabilities. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community-based service-learning programs, and research engagement. The faculty engaged in this Consortium are known leaders nationally and internationally in adapted physical activity, which places this project in an advantageous position to provide quality and essential doctoral-level training. This consortium includes East Carolina University, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Oregon State University, Texas Women’s University, University of Delaware, University of Virginia, and West Virginia University.
