Grissom first shirt earns doctorate Published April 16, 2008 By Senior Airman Chris Bolen 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind., -- Senior Master Sgt. Sandy Dye, first sergeant of Grissom's 72nd Air Refueling Squadron, has an educational accomplishment that only a few people achieve. She was recently awarded a doctorate degree from Purdue University. The PhD, in organizational leadership with a specialty in organizational conflict management and mediation, is the culmination of four years of very hard work during which Sergeant Dye has deployed three times. Sergeant Dye, who is a "lecturer" at Purdue University's, West Lafayette campus says, "there are a lot of things learned in the doctorate that have helped me to do my Air Force job." According to the Sergeant, "there is a lot of cross-over between her two jobs." "They compliment each other and I think it helps here at Grissom and also back at Purdue with my students," she explained. "The first sergeant's job is the best job in the world, but also an extremely busy job," she notes. "The PhD with its emphasis on conflict management and critical thinking gives a boost to both careers," she continued. "As reservists we have to handle conflict each day, between the military, deployments, job, and family," she explained. "Not to mention in the military we must adjust to the world around us, sometimes on the spur of the moment," she continued. She notes, "using the knowledge gained from my PhD combined with the military side helps my students to better understand life and the importance of thinking things through." "While on a deployment, understanding the reason for the structures of leadership and how it operates helps provide connectivity," she explains. However, completing the PhD was not easy. "This was the toughest thing I have done in my whole life," she said. "There was a lot of hard work, time, and late nights sometimes getting up at 3 AM to do projects," she continued. "A PhD is not what everyone wants to do" she explained. "but it is great for people who really enjoy constantly learning new things, and that is what I like to do" she continued. "It is one of those things that is long term and is going to take a big chunk of your time," she emphasized. Despite the hard work, Sergeant Dye states "that it was well worth the effort." She said, "I feel lucky to be able to have both my civilian and Air Force Reserve careers." "For a long time my life was my civilian job, my Air Force job, and the PhD work, now that the PhD is complete I'll have a lot more free time," she added with a laugh.
