{"id":2592,"date":"2020-10-28T15:24:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T15:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=2592"},"modified":"2025-02-11T10:33:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T15:33:16","slug":"to-survive-and-defend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/28\/to-survive-and-defend\/","title":{"rendered":"To Survive and Defend"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column2592_37cf23-c7 dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"covid19-may-have-delayed-emmanuel-gilberts-doctoral-degree-but-it-didnt-derail-it\">COVID-19 may have delayed Emmanuel Gilbert\u2019s doctoral degree, but it didn\u2019t derail it.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>He planned to complete his Ed.D. in Organizational Learning, Leadership, and Innovation by Memorial Day. He was working on the second round of revisions and even scheduled a mock dissertation defense, with the real thing to follow. Then, on March 30, he was hospitalized after contracting COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image2592_413a0f-ae .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image2592_413a0f-ae\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"296\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.test.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Emmanuel-296x480.jpeg\" alt=\"Emmanuel is wheeled out of the hospital as nurses cheer\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-2593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Emmanuel-296x480.jpeg 296w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Emmanuel-154x250.jpeg 154w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Emmanuel.jpeg 394w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>His stay in the intensive care unit at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, included 29 days on a ventilator, and he wouldn\u2019t return to his Chester home until the end of May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat changed a lot of things,\u201d he says. He\u2019s still recovering from the infection and its aftereffects. \u201cBut the goal is to finish my degree this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has to. His younger brother has no intention of finishing his own doctorate by himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2013, both Emmanuel and Darius Gilbert have been pursuing the College of Education\u2019s highest degree. They studied in the same cohort for three years. After four off-and-on years of applied research, as time and finances allowed, both aimed to defend their dissertations in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was going to earn my doctorate,\u201d says Emmanuel, \u201cand my brother said, there\u2019s no way you\u2019re leaving me behind. We push each other to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThen, from 2011 to 2013, he kept talking about a doctorate,\u201d says Darius. \u201cHe\u2019d say, \u2018we\u2019ve just got to do it, let\u2019s just see what we can do.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their research projects emerged from the work they\u2019ve done with at-risk youth. Both brothers hold supervisory roles at Elwyn, a Delaware County, Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization that educates, treats, and supports those with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emmanuel\u2019s dissertation focuses on whether local elementary school teachers understand positive behavior intervention and supports an evidence- and data-based alternative to student discipline, while Darius examined whether parents can influence sixth-graders\u2019 academic achievement at the critical transition from elementary to middle school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Emmanuel fell ill, Darius stepped up to help coordinate care and communicate between the family, healthcare providers, and others, including WilmU. \u201cOur professors understood we\u2019d have to take a pause,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emmanuel describes his continuing recovery from COVID-19 as \u201can uphill climb,\u201d and it\u2019s nowhere near over. \u201cIt\u2019s hard every day,\u201d he says. He\u2019s dropped 45 pounds since his hospitalization. There\u2019s a parade of medications every day, plus physical therapy and speech therapy sessions, twice a week for each. He\u2019s also reckoning with the cognitive impact of the illness and post-traumatic stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thankful that I have a good support system,\u201d he says, \u201cand I have to thank Taylor Hospital for doing their job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI asked him if he was ready to go back to school,\u201d Darius says. \u201cHe said, \u2018going back to school is what\u2019s going to keep my mind on track, and not falling into depression.\u2019 So far, we\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>COVID-19 may have delayed Emmanuel Gilbert\u2019s doctoral degree, but it didn\u2019t derail it. He planned to complete his Ed.D. in Organizational Learning, Leadership, and Innovation&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[634],"class_list":["post-2592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","tag-magazine-fall-2020"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":135,"label":"MAGAZINE"}],"post_tag":[{"value":634,"label":"Magazine Fall 2020"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Emmanuel-thumb.jpg",394,262,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Rebecca Slinger","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/rebecca\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":135,"name":"MAGAZINE","slug":"magazine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":692,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":431,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":135,"category_count":431,"category_description":"","cat_name":"MAGAZINE","category_nicename":"magazine","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":634,"name":"Magazine Fall 2020","slug":"magazine-fall-2020","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1191,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15804,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592\/revisions\/15804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}