Courtney Williamson Sisneros was still completing her bachelor’s degree at Southeastern Oklahoma State University when she enrolled early in the online Master of Science in Native American Leadership – Education program.
“I knew that I wanted to further my education, but I didn’t know where or which way I wanted to go with my career,” she said. “With this master’s degree program, it left all of my options open.”
“It covered so much — culture, management and leadership skills. It encompassed all of the things I was looking for in a master’s degree.”
Courtney Williamson Sisneros and her husband, Cameron, are educators who live and teach at the Chickasaw Children’s Village, a Native American boarding school in Kingston, Oklahoma. She completed the online master’s degree program with a 4.0 GPA in August 2021.
“The online format worked out well with my schedule, especially because we are at the school where we teach 24/7,” she said. “There was a lot more expected of you in the master’s program than in the undergraduate degree program, but it was also more flexible. It worked out well.”
After wrapping up the 2021-22 school year, Courtney Williamson Sisneros will embark on a new role as a Choctaw language teacher at the Choctaw Nation Headquarters in Durant, near Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
“The emphasis in education in the Native American Leadership program was perfect,” she said. “It helped me a lot.
The degree helped her secure her new position as a teacher for online learning courses throughout the Choctaw Nation and different high schools in the area.
Historical Non-Fiction
Courtney Williamson Sisneros is from Sulphur, Oklahoma, where she had planned to start a career as an artist after graduating from high school and earning an associate degree in art from Murray State College. Her passion for teaching, though, soon became her path.
“My grandma, Jo Nelson, was a special education director where I went to school, so I spent a lot of time in her classroom,” she said. “Teaching was not the way I wanted to go. I ended up here, and it’s the way it was supposed to be.”
After dropping out from a bachelor’s degree program a decade earlier, Courtney Williamson Sisneros returned to higher education and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal and applied studies, with an art concentration and a minor in Choctaw language, from Southeastern Oklahoma in 2020.
“I got special approval to start the master’s degree before I graduated from the undergraduate program,” she said. “The bachelor’s degree program was a hybrid, so I knew what to expect with the online courses in the master’s degree program.”
Special Studies was Courtney Williamson Sisneros’ favorite course in the online Master of Science in Native American Leadership – Education program curriculum.
“The coursework was geared toward me,” she said. “I did a research project with my family members where I gathered and documented some of their stories from growing up to preserve some Native American history. It was stories from current times, from 1920 to 1990. It was a fun and interesting project.”
Second Sight
Williamson Sisneros is the first person in her immediate family to earn a college degree, making the one-two punch of completing the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs back-to-back all the more special.
“My family and friends are excited and surprised that I graduated with honors,” she said. “When I started an undergrad program for the first time ten years ago, I failed so many semesters in a row. It was tough, but I have had a 4.0 GPA since I started at Southeastern.”
Because of COVID-19, Williamson Sisneros did not get to walk in her bachelor’s degree commencement ceremony, which was held virtually. However, she made up for it by crossing the graduation stage to celebrate earning a master’s degree.
“It was a fun experience,” she said. “It’s great that you can do the online program at your own pace, one course at a time.
“More importantly, it’s essential to developing a Native American leader. I received good value out of the online master’s degree program. It prepared me well to meet the challenges of taking on my new job next school year.”
The second time around in college was a rousing success for Williamson Sisneros, who still enjoys creating and appreciating art in her free time. She believes that the good times from having a master’s degree under her belt are just beginning to roll.
“The degree has already helped open up some opportunities for me in my career,” she said. “I expect that to continue in the future. In my next position, they have already mentioned the principalship. That’s exciting.”
Learn more about Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online M.S. in Native American Leadership – Education program.