I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for connecting me with Dr. Kevin Hylton. After our first phone call, I knew that we would work well together, but I had no idea how much I would come to value his support and appreciate his guidance. There are not enough words to express how blessed I feel to have had the opportunity to work with him, but I will try. When Kevin and I began working together I was stuck. My dissertation chair was of little to no help. I was submitting revisions on my proposal every couple of weeks only to get it back with minimal feedback that was ambiguous at best. Kevin and I believed that my document was not even being read. The cycle of revising and resubmitting that I was stuck in had been going on for almost seven months and would continue on for another five. At the end of the first year, I was no further along then when I had started. It was at that time that Kevin talked me down from the ledge, just the first of many times to be honest, and gave me the confidence to become my own advocate and request a new dissertation chair. While this was only the first of many outlandish challenges, many that Kevin had not even experienced before, he continued to encourage me, teach me, build me up, and even put me back together at times. We worked together for almost three years before we were able to celebrate the completion of my doctoral journey. I know that I would not have this degree if it were not for him. He was often the calm in the storm, a safe place for me to vent my frustrations, and to be vulnerable enough to hear the constructive feedback I needed without feeling belittled or incapable of completing a dissertation. I learned more from him about research and academic writing than I did from my doctoral program and more importantly, I developed a love for research, something that had scared me away from starting a doctoral program sooner. I thank him for being as invested in this process as I was. I thank him for caring as much about my success as I did. I thank him for knowing when to push me, when to encourage me, and how to help me reach my potential. I would encourage future doctoral learners to take full advantage of the opportunity to work with him and learn from him because his guidance and support have truly been priceless!
