1. Donna Lipscomb EDU 695 MAED Capstone Instructor Jackie Kyger May 12, 2015

2.  Hello, my name is Donna L. Lipscomb.  I am a Planning & Policy Consultant in the Subsidy Services Section of the Division of Child Development and Early Education in Raleigh, NC. My specialization is Family & Community Services.  My professional goal is to open a five star child care facility and eventually start a chain in the various counties of North Carolina.

3.  I am originally from Brooklyn, NY however, I reside in Durham, NC with my husband, Pastor Shawn D. Lipscomb and our six children, one grandson and my dog Ace.  I hold an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Care Credentials, NC Early Educator Certification, and Bachelor of Science Degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Child Development. I have been in early childhood education for 22 years.  My experiences includes Subsidy Processor for the City of Durham, former owner and director of a five star childcare home, lead teacher at Head Start, First Lady of my church including director of our children’s and women’s ministry and now a Planning & Policy Consultant.

4.  My educational goal is to complete the MAED program here at Ashford University.  From this course I hope to gain further knowledge of how 21 st century learners learn, to continue to grow and develop professionally and how to strengthen my knowledge about diversity.  I hope to gain knowledge of how I can better serve my community and support youth.

5. The MAED Program has supported me toward achieving my professional goal of owning and operating a five star child care facility by teaching me how:  to conduct myself professionally,  to network with various sectors,  to be active in my community,  to support families within my community,  to create innovative lessons that are fun and engaging to the children I plan to teach. I have learned about the 40 Developmental Assets, which are essential to starting an initiative and managing a program that supports youth, families and the community and the assignments allowed me to think critically and be an effective decision maker which is part of my current role in my profession.

6. Reflect on the most influential design and development challenge you faced in coursework as part of the MAED Program. At a minimum, please share the following:  What was the challenge you experienced? In EDU 635 Community and Youth Development I had to create an initiative that supports at-risk youth. I wanted my initiative to focus on low income youth who were involved in gang activity. Challenges I faced were how to get the youth to connect with me, how to gain support from the community and how would the initiative benefit the youth, families and my community.

7.  How did you overcome it? I overcame the challenges by first, sharing my ideas, obtained feedback, developed an action plan which included the 40 Developmental Assets, began networking with community leaders and designed a power point to present in order to show how this program would be beneficial to the Durham community.  How did the experience sharpen your knowledge and/or skill in teaching and learning? This experience sharpened my knowledge because it challenged me to critically think, it caused me to make effective decisions, and informed me of how to come up with creative ideas and solutions that would support the youth. This experience allowed me to put other needs before my own.

8. Share one quote that symbolizes your belief about Framework for 21st century learning or Common Core State Standards. “If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn” (Estrada, 2015).

9.  I have always had the heart of giving back to preschool children and my community.  I love to read, fish, shop, travel and spend time with my family.  Although I am from New York, my favorite NFL team are the Pittsburgh Steelers!

10.  Me Serving Meals for families at Ronald McDonald House of Durham

13. ThinkExist.com Quotations, (2015). “Ignacio Estrada quotes”. ThinkExist.com Quotations Online. Retrieved from http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/ignacio_ http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/ignacio_ estrada/