Since the third grade, Jennifer Pierson, Ph.D., has always known her answer when people asked what she wanted to be when she grew up: a psychologist.

“Most kids don’t know what a psychologist is,” she said. “But at my elementary school, there was a role available for third- and fourth-graders who helped their classmates talk out their disagreements on the playground peacefully.”

Seeing this at school, Dr. Pierson recalls asking her mom if anyone did that in “real life.”

“My mom then told me, ‘Psychologists help people solve their problems,’” Dr. Pierson said. “That’s when I knew.”

This past June, Dr. Pierson made that childhood dream a reality after completing Adler University’s online Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Organizational Psychology program. She’s hopeful of using her well-earned doctorate to help workplaces create psychologically safe environments for all employees.

To celebrate the accomplishment, she’ll join fellow graduates during the Chicago and Online Commencement Ceremony at the Chicago Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 27. It’ll actually be her second Adler University commencement ceremony, but the first she’s attending in person.

Sooner rather than later

Although Dr. Pierson wanted to become a psychologist since childhood, it wasn’t until adulthood when she chose to pursue the field of industrial and organizational leadership.

“After some experiences in toxic workplace cultures, I decided that I can use psychology to help organizations foster more psychologically safe spaces for all employees,” she said. “We spend so much of our lives at work. Every employee should feel welcomed and valued at their job, and that often starts with leadership.”

Born in Detroit and raised in Allen Park, Michigan, Dr. Pierson’s higher education journey began with earning a dual bachelor’s degree in psychology and journalism from the University of Michigan with a minor in English.

“But options can be limited with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, so I taught a blended classroom of first-, second-, and third-grade students for five years at a Montessori,” she said.

Dr. Pierson was still teaching when she started Adler’s online Master of Art in Industrial and Organizational Psychology program in 2018, completing it in 2020. She intended to take a break from school and gain some experience, but the pandemic put a stop to that.

“It was weird graduating in my own living room in 2020 because of the pandemic,” said Dr. Pierson. “And since we were all stuck inside, I decided I might as well pursue my doctorate online sooner rather than later.”

Participating in the ceremony in person isn’t the only change to her upcoming graduation experience.

“This time around, there’s a lot of anticipation and excitement,” she said. “Not only does this mark an end to my higher education journey, but I also get to celebrate accomplishing a goal I set out a long time ago.”

Dr. Pierson visited and explored Chicago before conducting her dissertation defense.

In a flash

Influenced by the impact of the pandemic, Dr. Pierson’s dissertation focused on remote leadership self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a theory defined as people’s belief in their ability to control their functioning and events that affect their lives.

“In other words, I evaluated remote leaders’ self-efficacy against necessary remote leadership tasks and abilities, such as the ability to communicate with their team,” Dr. Pierson said. “The remote leaders filled out two questionnaires evaluating themselves on leadership abilities.”

The dissertation process was among the tasks she was most anxious about. However, thanks to the guidance of her dissertation chair, Susan Adams, Ph.D., the process has become one of the things Dr. Pierson looks fondly back on during her time at Adler.

“I had taken a few of Dr. Adam’s classes, and I personally asked her to be my dissertation chair,” Dr. Pierson said. “I knew she would be very diligent with her feedback and help me improve my work. I would not have been able to defend it successfully without her.”

This past May, Dr. Pierson hopped on a train from Detroit to Chicago and checked in to her downtown hotel. Although she would be defending her dissertation from a laptop camera in her hotel room, she simply wanted to be closer to Adler’s Chicago campus.

“I had never been to the city, so I made a little vacation out of it,” said Dr. Pierson, who explored Chicago before her dissertation defense. “As soon as I was done, I packed up my things and took the train back home.”

Now, with her Ph.D. in hand, Dr. Pierson hopes to snag her dream job in leadership consulting, executive coaching, and organizational development. She also hopes to land an adjunct faculty role. Until then, she’s taken a volunteer role with the National Association of Athletes’ Mental Health, helping the nonprofit organization develop its leadership pipeline program.

As she returns to Chicago for her commencement ceremony this month, Dr. Pierson said if she can give current and future students a piece of advice, it would be to take what they learn from their peers and instructors to heart because it may not seem like it at the time, but the journey at Adler will go by in a flash.

“I would encourage students to simply enjoy the ride,” Dr. Pierson said. “I know that’s going to sound very cheesy because I’ve heard others say it, but it’s the truth. Yes, graduation is the goal, but don’t forget to celebrate the little milestones along the way.”