Sherill Zemek
M.A. Organizational Psychology, 2005
 When she recommends Antioch to prospective students, Sherrill Zemek makes a distinction between true learning and traditional learning. "Antioch is where you will experience true learning," she says. "Antioch cultivates an environment of 'thinking outside the box' and diverse perspectives."
Numerous factors brought her to Antioch. Zemek had been adjusting to life as a single mom without giving much thought to her goals and aspirations when one of her children decided at the time to go live with the other parent.
"My time opened up considerably and that is when I chose to follow my dream of obtaining a master's degree," she says. "I chose Antioch because I had heard from other Boeing employees that it was a good school and it did not require GMAT/GRE scores for admittance.
"Having a 'systems thinking' understanding and knowledge has helped me to work with teams and help them see the relationships and dynamics between things and within a system."
"It also was a school that was not 100% online. I am the type of learner who needs 'eyeball to eyeball' interaction. Some of the other schools I was considering were 100% online and, therefore, I was not interested in them."
Zemek, a staff analyst 4 at the Boeing Co., didn't have to worry about the cost of her graduate studies. "I am one of the fortunate ones as my company paid for all of my graduate school education," she says, adding,"if Boeing didn't have an excellent tuition-reimbursement program, I would have taken out student loans as the education was well worth it."
She credits Kate Davies, now director of the Center for Creative Change, and Shana Hormann, core faculty in Organizational Psychology, for how they coached her.
"Shana Hormann and Kate Davies were both inspirational. As faculty and my professors, the way they interacted with me and encouraged me showed they believed in me," Zemek notes. "Shana recognized gifts in me that I did not recognize at the time, but do now. Kate challenged me in ways that created just enough energy/tension in me to do my best work."
She recalls a case study she did near the end of her first year that prepared her for her change project the following year. "Both experiences created the foundation/beginnings of understanding and doing organizational consulting work. It was 'true' hands-on experience," she says.
Learning about systems thinking at Antioch, according to Zemek, has been invaluable to her work. That and much more.
"Having a 'systems thinking' understanding and knowledge has helped me to work with teams and help them see the relationships and dynamics between things and within a system.
"Conducting a literature review for my thesis provided more knowledge and insight about how effective communication enhances relationships of all types. I use quotes from some of the books I read in my development work with teams at Boeing.
"I learned that reflection is a critical part of any change/transformation. I continue to journal today in my work as a coach. As I am transformed, I transform others," she says.
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