{"id":947,"date":"2026-05-18T15:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/?p=947"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:04:07","slug":"a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/2026\/05\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\/","title":{"rendered":"A Passion for Education Becomes a Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Stephen Marositz, there was never another path for him other than the career he chose. From early childhood, he always loved everything about school and even used to play \u201cmake believe\u201d school with action figures and stuffed animals, with them\u00a0playing the part of his students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion [for education] comes from somewhere deeper in my soul,\u201d Stephen says. \u201cI have been obsessed with the history of schools, their role in society, and the pressures\u00a0schools\u00a0shoulder as the lifeblood of communities.\u201d Then Stephen adds, \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know of any other little kid who grew up wanting to be the Secretary of Education, but here I am.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a path\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0still committed to and intend to see through.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know of any other little kid who grew up wanting to be the Secretary of Education, but here I am.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a path\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0still committed to and intend to see through.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reflecting on the Ball State Online EdD Program\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

During Stephen\u2019s time as an online\u00a0student at Ball State\u00a0University, he credits\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Mike Shaffer<\/span><\/a> as\u00a0one of the most influential figures in the\u00a0<\/span>Doctorate of Education (EdD) in Educational Administration and Supervision program<\/span><\/a>. After having the privilege of working with him in multiple courses, Stephen considers him an invaluable mentor, resource, and champion of his growth as an educational leader. Of Mike Shaffer, Stephen says, \u201cTeaching is his clear vocation, and his commitment to this mission is exemplified in his service to the field and each individual student. I held him in such high esteem and talked about him so much that when my family came to my dissertation defense, they couldn\u2019t wait to meet him!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephen says\u00a0his\u00a0clinical placements\u00a0were\u00a0slightly different\u00a0from\u00a0the traditional path because he was already working as a district leader while pursuing licensure. At the time, he\u00a0served as the Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning for the Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York. \u201cMy clinical placement was a\u00a0full-time\u00a0job,\u201d he explains. \u201cThis allowed me to apply what I was learning from my courses in real-time.\u00a0This also meant the stakes were incredibly high.\u00a0What I put into practice\u00a0impacted\u00a0the learning of\u00a020,000 students.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy clinical placement was a full-time job. This allowed me to apply what I was learning from my courses in real-time. This also meant the stakes were incredibly high.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Choosing Ball State\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stephen\u2019s application to the Ball State Online doctoral program was strategic. \u201cI had done a significant amount of research and vetting programs for about\u00a018 months\u00a0before beginning my doctoral journey,\u201d he explains. \u201cI knew exactly what I wanted in and out of the program, the kind of faculty and faculty expertise I wanted to learn from. Ball State was the only school\u00a0that\u00a0enthusiastically checked all my boxes.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew exactly what I wanted in and out of the program, the kind of faculty and faculty\u00a0expertise\u00a0I wanted to learn from. Ball State was the only school\u00a0that\u00a0enthusiastically checked all my boxes.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because of Stephen\u2019s strong belief that teachers need to \u201cwalk the walk,\u201d he wanted to be part of a program that enabled him to work closely with students and schools,\u00a0\u00a0continue working full-time, and offered exceptional preparation for educational leadership. After hearing many horror stories about doctoral programs with absent advisors, he wanted to ensure he chose a program where he would be seen and supported. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my first interaction with the EdD program, Ball State was different. I filled out the standard interest form on the website and was\u00a0immediately\u00a0contacted by the program director to discuss my personal and professional goals. In that\u00a0initial\u00a0conversation,\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Serena Salloum<\/span><\/a>\u00a0laid out a path specific to me. Personalized support has been unparalleled from the start.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my first interaction with the EdD program, Ball State was different\u2026.Personalized\u00a0support has been unparalleled from the start.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now that Stephen is fully immersed in his career, he can look back on his time with Ball State. \u201cSo much of my practice as a professor is based on how my professors at Ball State approach their courses. From them,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had excellent modeling of instructional design, which centered purposeful focus on linking\u00a0their\u00a0to practical application, as well as overwhelming support and championing of my growth and success.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo much of my practice as a professor is based on how my professors at Ball State approach their courses. From them,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had excellent modeling of instructional design, which centered purposeful focus on linking\u00a0their\u00a0work\u00a0to practical application, as well as overwhelming support and championing of my growth and success.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stephen\u2019s Proudest Accomplishments\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

As a first-generation student, Stephen is aware of how incredibly difficult this journey has been. He shares the deeply personal aspects of his journey to a doctorate. \u201cA long list of articles and books are filled with stats on how I am not supposed to be here. My family is poor. My dad dropped out of high school. My mom, a high school graduate, died of brain cancer during my freshman year of college. My first job was in 8<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0grade, and I have held at least one, often two jobs,\u00a0ever since to support myself and my academic ambitions. And now I have earned a doctoral degree, forever altering the trajectory of my family\u2019s story.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He credits the Ball State faculty with their guidance and acceptance as he walked this path, sharing, \u201cI am forever grateful to have had mentorship from faculty who had walked this path and were highly effective district leaders themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Stephen Marositz, there was never another path for him other than the career he chose. From early childhood, he always loved everything about school and even used to play \u201cmake believe\u201d school with action figures and stuffed animals, with them\u00a0playing the part of his students.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy passion [for education] comes from somewhere deeper in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[35,27,36,37,8,158,166,57],"class_list":["post-947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-and-faculty-stories","tag-doctor-of-education","tag-doctorate","tag-edd","tag-educational-administration-and-supervision","tag-graduate","tag-online","tag-online-doctorate","tag-teachers-college"],"yoast_head":"\nA Passion for Education Becomes a Career - Ball State Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/2026\/05\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Passion for Education Becomes a Career - Ball State Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Stephen Marositz, there was never another path for him other than the career he chose. From early childhood, he always loved everything about school and even used to play \u201cmake believe\u201d school with action figures and stuffed animals, with them\u00a0playing the part of his students.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMy passion [for education] comes from somewhere deeper in […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/online\/2026\/05\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ball State Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T19:04:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/05\/18100727\/Stephen-Marasitz_EdD_Ed_Administration-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carolyn Duncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carolyn Duncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carolyn Duncan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/57160686049c624bd8046c9b4e01bfdf\"},\"headline\":\"A Passion for Education Becomes a Career\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T19:04:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":950,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/18100727\\\/Stephen-Marasitz_EdD_Ed_Administration-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Doctor of Education\",\"Doctorate\",\"EdD\",\"Educational Administration and Supervision\",\"Graduate\",\"online\",\"online doctorate\",\"Teachers College\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Student and Faculty Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Passion for Education Becomes a Career - Ball State Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/18100727\\\/Stephen-Marasitz_EdD_Ed_Administration-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T19:04:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/57160686049c624bd8046c9b4e01bfdf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bsu.edu\\\/online\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/a-passion-for-education-becomes-a-career\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/18100727\\\/Stephen-Marasitz_EdD_Ed_Administration-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bsu-wpe-blogs.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/18100727\\\/Stephen-Marasitz_EdD_Ed_Administration-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Ball State University alum and Assistant Professor of Special Education, Stephen Marositz, sits at his desk overlooking theSt. Joseph\u2019s College of Maine campus, while working on his computer. 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