Jo Grove’s PhD. Completion Fund
Hi and welcome-- my name is Jo Grove, and I’m nearly finished with my PhD. I need your help to cross the finish line!
Earning this degree has been a lifelong dream, and after five years on online study, I am at the end of the doctoral process. I have two courses remaining: Dissertation 2, On-Site Residency, and the Dissertation Defense course. My dissertation project topic is: “An Examination of the Services provided to the Blind and Visually Impaired by the State of Wisconsin”.
Unfortunately I have exhausted all of the financial aid available for a graduate student, because it has just taken me longer to complete than other students. Why? Two reasons:
One: I am 74 years old.
Two: I am legally blind.
I began to lose my vision in my mid- thirties but continued to work full time as a college administrator while raising four children. The eye disease I am diagnosed with is Rod-Cone Dystrophy. This means that the rods and cones at the back of the eye are disintegrating and have been doing so for the past 40+ years. There is no cure for this disease, and eventually I will be completely blind.
In 2004, I could no longer see well enough to drive, and was forced into an early retirement. It was devastating to give up my independence and to rely on others for the simplest errands or appointments. It soon dawned on me that I have spent a lifetime refusing to be limited by circumstances, and believe me; I have had more than my share of struggle in 74 years. Seventy-four years spent fighting off the effects of institutional racism and sexism takes a toll on a body. I refuse to see any of these things, especially my age or my visual impairment as a limitation to my achievements!
During the past five years of working on this degree, I have beaten obesity, losing 120 pounds after a gastric bypass surgery, and I am proud to say I'm cancer-free after my breast cancer diagnosis resulted in a mastectomy. The way I see it is, if cancer couldn’t stop me, I cannot falter just three courses from my doctorate degree.
Despite a host of other medical issues, my mind is sharper than ever, and, I’ve struggled daily to keep up with my coursework—it worked, I’ve maintained a 3.7 GPA! I ‘m a fighter, as you can see. I'm very fortunate, in that my family is hugely supportive, and helps with my living expenses. Here's a picture of me at home with my daughter and her partner, who visited Wisconsin earlier this year.
In addition to the three remaining courses, I’ll need to retain a dissertation editor due to my blindness, which makes the APA doctoral guidelines a problem for me. At the end of May, I will attend the fourth-year residency program in Phoenix, AZ requiring airfare, hotel and meals. Lastly, I’ll need a website for my qualitative e-Delphi study as well as a statistician to aid in accuracy in collecting the study data. But first things first!
Please donate now to say NO to limitations like age and blindness!
I truly believe that my work is important to the entire visually impaired community, both in Wisconsin and nationally. I’m so very grateful to you, thank you for reading and donating, and supporting my efforts to achieve this goal.
Regards, Jo
