I have been fortunate in my life to be able to pursue my dreams. As a child I aspired to be a concert pianist, a writer, and an actress.

My interest in drama led me to the theatre department at Northwestern University. After two years I found that acting was not my real passion. I changed my major, and graduated with a B.S. in Speech Education.

I began my teaching career as a High School English teacher and play director. I found directing to be more rewarding than acting. My joy was in helping students realize their talents and work together toward a common goal.

My greatest personal joys have been my marriage of 25 years to Bob Donoho and our children, Robyn and Justin. At 21 Robyn is a fiction-writing student at Columbia College Chicago, and Justin, at 24 is a technology/business consultant for Arthur Andersen. I was fortunate to be able to stay home while my children were young, to give them my full attention.

I resumed my teaching career at the community college level, and taught the basic speech course. Classes were so much more engaging than the ones I taught in high school because I was able to involve students in role-playing and other experiential learning activities. I especially enjoyed working with adults, and was delighted to help them make strides in overcoming speech anxiety.

In 1988 I began my connection with National-Louis University as a Master's degree candidate in Adult and Continuing Education. I graduated in 1990, and four years later began my present position as an Assessment Counselor and instructor at NLU. Beginning the Adult Education Doctoral Program (Ed.D.) at NLU was a milestone for me. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys self-directed learning as well as collaboration with others.

At NLU I discovered my passion for teaching adults. Through my research and writing for the doctoral program, I plan to develop curriculum in the area of multicultural studies. My dream is to involve adult students of diverse orientations and backgrounds in experiential learning for the purpose of achieving common goals.

Email contact: Bette Donoho