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鈥淲hat I keep going back to is, we have certifications that we get through the state,鈥� Schuth added. 鈥淎ll of those things are held by the entity you work for. But this degree is mine. It鈥檚 my thing that no one can take it away. I wanted to do something that stood on its own.鈥�

Megan Schuth stands on her own as much more than the outward trappings of uniform and badge and the gun on her hip.

A Denton native, Schuth is the first woman to hold the position of battalion chief in the Denton Fire Department, promoted to the post in 2021. She was a police officer before joining the fire department. She has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English composition. A decade later and after having children, she earned a master鈥檚 in professional and technical communications. She taught technical writing at the University of North Texas. She鈥檚 a mother of two, 14-year-old son Xander and 11-year-old daughter Berkley.

And on Friday, May 13, she will officially be a doctor of philosophy (the source of the term 鈥淧hD鈥�) in rhetoric from Texas Woman鈥檚 University.

鈥淵ou have to have a quest for knowledge,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淚 do. I just want to keep learning. I did this because I wanted to keep learning. I enjoy analyzing and thinking about things.鈥�

Schuth found the perfect environment to pursue that life-long-learning ambition at 草莓传媒官网下载. The term diversity is often focused on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, but at 草莓传媒官网下载 it also has a generational aspect.

鈥淎s an older student, one thing that was really appealing was the diversity,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 younger students, older students, full-time working students and parents. You feel like you belong there and you鈥檙e supposed to be there.鈥�

鈥淭here,鈥� however, was a nerve-racking place when she faced the final step to obtain a PhD: defending her dissertation. If defending a dissertation sounds like going to trial, there鈥檚 good reason.

鈥淚 was really nervous going in,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淭hey (a three-professor panel) want to see you succeed, but they don鈥檛 pull punches. They ask everything.鈥�

The day before the dissertation defense, Schuth practiced over and over and over for a presentation that lasted 15 minutes. It was followed by 30-40 minutes of questions from the panel. Preparation paid off.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 as bad as I anticipated, because I knew all my material so well that there was no question I couldn鈥檛 answer,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淭hey want to know you have thought of every aspect and have a good reason for every research decision you make.鈥�

After the examination, Schuth was asked to leave the room while the panel reached judgment.

鈥淭hen they came out and said, 鈥楥ongratulations, Dr. Schuth,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 was sitting at a table and suddenly realized, this is it, this is the moment! It was really cool. And Dr. Busl (Gretchen Busl, associate professor and English graduate programs coordinator) brought cupcakes, and we celebrated and had cupcakes.鈥�

Schuth鈥檚 dissertation, 鈥淧erformance Under Fire: A Study of Rhetorical Firefighter Identities,鈥� stemmed from her observations of police and fire departments. Though Schuth is not a firefighter, leaving her outside the firefighter brotherhood, her position offers a rare insight into the people who run into burning buildings.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e not firefighters from 8 to 5, then go home and they鈥檙e not firefighters anymore,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey live it and breathe it their whole lives. I find it interesting, the identities we take on. Rhetoric fit right into that.鈥�

Schuth鈥檚 new identity was particularly of interest to her children.

鈥淢y son said, 鈥楽o, you鈥檙e going to be a doctor? That鈥檚 really cool.鈥� I wanted my family to see that continuing your education and continuing to learn is really important. I missed out on some evenings with them, but I鈥檓 really glad to have shown them that. I tell both of them, you set a goal and you work towards it. But once you achieve that goal, don鈥檛 be done. Set your next goal.鈥�

She readily admits that realizing her ambitions would have been difficult if not impossible without support at home. Her husband, Allen, works from home, enabling him to take care of much of the childcare.

鈥淗e takes the kids to school, picks them up, makes their lunches, gets them breakfast and makes dinner every night,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 another great thing for the kids to see: a stay-at-home dad and a working mom, to know that there aren鈥檛 traditional roles you have to fulfill. It really complemented my drive and motivation, that he鈥檚 happy to support that. I couldn鈥檛 have asked for a better husband. We really are a collaborative team.鈥�

While she is intent on continuing her career in the fire department, she has ambitions of returning to teaching. But those ambitions don鈥檛 diverge from her career in the fire department.

Indeed, they circle back to firefighter brotherhood.

鈥淭here鈥檚 such a need for professional development in the fire department,鈥� Schuth said. 鈥淚f I can take any of this and take it to other fire departments and help them people figure out their professional development, that鈥檚 a legacy I would love to leave.鈥�