{"id":18813,"date":"2025-10-23T15:28:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T19:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=18813"},"modified":"2026-02-03T13:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T18:03:35","slug":"the-hard-road-to-a-doctorate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/23\/the-hard-road-to-a-doctorate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hard Road to a Doctorate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mia Harvey<\/strong> doesn\u2019t need to imagine what it\u2019s like to be one of her students. She already knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tell my students, \u2018I am one of you,\u2019\u201d says Harvey, the program director of Education and Employment Training at West End Neighborhood House in Wilmington. \u201cI\u2019ve been homeless. I\u2019ve been on food stamps. I\u2019ve dropped out of high school. Whatever you\u2019ve been through, I\u2019ve probably been through it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a doctoral student at Wilmington University, where she also earned her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees, Harvey and her team serve marginalized individuals, many of whom have been impacted by trauma. She emphasizes that their past doesn\u2019t define their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving been in your shoes, I know a lot of the tricks of the trade; I know how to navigate the system,\u201d she tells them. \u201cThis is just one stage of your journey. It\u2019s not defining who you are. I\u2019ve been through it, and now here I am on the other end \u2014 I\u2019m a homeowner, I own vehicles, and I\u2019m stable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She makes it clear to students that her department is a place of safety and dignity, and she holds her team to a high standard when it comes to interactions with students. \u201cOne bad experience can set someone back permanently,\u201d she says. \u201cIt could stop them from ever seeking help again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 37, Harvey speaks candidly about a childhood shaped by domestic violence and time in foster care. At 17, she became a single mother of two, dropped out of high school, and got her GED through the state of Maryland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI dropped out in 11th grade because I was pregnant with my second child,\u201d she says. \u201cI was in advanced placement classes in school, and I felt high school was a waste of time. I wanted to work and support my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would\u2019ve loved to have someone like me in my life back then,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s why I got into this work. I want to give back. If my students say, \u2018What do you know?,\u2019 I can say, \u2018I\u2019ve been in your shoes \u2014 and it was awful \u2014 but I know how to get through.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fueled by determination, she has followed a winding path to professional success and academic achievement. After a false start at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland, in 2005, she worked two jobs while raising two children. It would be nine years before she was financially comfortable enough to return to college. In 2014, drawn by online programs and affordability, she enrolled at WilmU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been in your shoes \u2014 and it was awful \u2014 but I know how to get through.\u201d  <\/p>\n\u2014 Mia Harvey<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though I never took an in-person class,\u201d she says, \u201cwhen I visited the campus in New Castle, I fell in love with everything about it. And I love online because I\u2019m a super-strong independent learner. So the online module works for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She earned her bachelor\u2019s in Psychology<\/a> in 2018 and a master\u2019s in Applied Family Science<\/a> two years later, utilizing the Dual-Credit ADVANTAGE\u00ae<\/a> program that allows students to take graduate courses while pursuing their undergraduate degree. She\u2019s been on the dean\u2019s list and is a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. She expects to complete her doctorate next summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At home in Wilmington, she\u2019s a divorced mother of four. Her two youngest \u2014 ages 15 and 16 \u2014 attend Brandywine High School. Her older children, now 20 and 21, are forging their paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her packed schedule, Harvey carves out time for herself. She hikes, travels, and plays video games, often with her children. A passionate reader, she owns \u201cprobably a thousand books.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHorror is my favorite \u2014 Stephen King, always,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m impatient, so I like anthology-style horror. I\u2019ve read all of those anthologies in the local library, so now I\u2019m going to other libraries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grant writing is another part of her skill set. She provides consulting services in that area, helping organizations articulate their missions and secure funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her long-term goal is to teach at the college level \u2014 ideally at Wilmington University. \u201cI\u2019d love to come full circle and become a professor there,\u201d she says. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Bob Yearick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n