Doctoral candidate, Logan McGuire, has been inducted into the Cratis D. Williams Society of Outstanding Graduates for a second time — once as an educational specialist graduate and now as a doctoral graduate.
The society is designed to include each year’s top graduates of the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School at Appalachian State University – approximately the top 2%. Students are chosen based on their academic performance, their engagement in their discipline, and their potential for leadership.
McGuire, originally from Sylva, North Carolina, received his Bachelor of Music in instrumental music education from James Madison University and his Master of School Administration and Education Specialist degrees from App State. He will graduate with his Doctorate in Educational Leadership in December 2024.
“I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” said McGuire. “I have now been chosen for induction to the Cratis Williams Society twice, and I consider it a validation of me as a student, a researcher, and an educator.”
“It also signals to me that the Graduate School affirms my work as important to the field of education,” he added. “I have been a musician as long as I can remember, and I chose to research music education in my dissertation partially because of its value in my life, even though it is often marginalized in practice within public schools. This award is an affirmation of music's important role within a well-rounded public-school education.”
Having earned his Master's and Specialist degrees at App State, and knowing first-hand the individual attention students receive in Reich College of Education graduate programs, it just seemed a natural progression for McGuire to continue his education and earn a doctorate from Appalachian as well.
“Earning a graduate degree is difficult, and even more so when the student is also a working professional,” he noted. “I knew from previous experience that my professors would support me every step of the way, but I was pleasantly surprised that the support given to me on my doctoral journey was even more robust than I expected.”
Additionally for McGuire, the creativity the program allows during the dissertation phase drew him to App State’s doctoral program.
“My professors and dissertation committee encouraged me to lean into my natural creativity throughout the program, and to consider how I could positively affect the field of education as a result of my work during the dissertation process,” he noted.
With his degree in hand, McGuire plans to seek out opportunities to support beginning teachers and to advocate for arts education, perhaps from a district-level position within a public school system.
“I could also see myself teaching or advising at the collegiate level, influencing adults as they work to discover and follow their educational dreams,” he added. “I know that the Doctor of Education degree will open doors for me that have never been open to me before, and I am excited to discover what these opportunities will be.”
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