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BMAL 704

Week 1 of 130: The Start of my Doctoral Journey (BMAL 700)

November 9, 2021 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Doctorate of Strategic Leadership program Robert Forto

Hello and welcome!

If you are new here thank you for checking out my blog. A quick bio:

My name is Robert Forto and I live in the wilds of Alaska with a pack of 38 sled dogs. I own and operate a dog training company where we train dogs from all over the country for service and therapy work. I am also on adjunct faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University where I teach outdoor leadership classes.

At 5 this kid wanted to be a doctor. Now 50 he’s earning a #doctorate in #leadership ! Share your old school photos. #AcademicChatter #midlifeincollege pic.twitter.com/qSf8qp133X

— Robert Forto (@robertforto) November 9, 2021

In May of 2020, I finished my Master of Sports Management here at Liberty University and for my internship, I planned and executed a 700-mile expedition across the state of Alaska with 13 people by dog team and snow machine that re-traced the 1925 Serum Run.

Mid-life in college and doctorate program journey! Click To Tweet

Each summer, my wife, Michele, who is also a master’s degree student at Liberty,  and I travel to the Lower 48 and do what we call the Rock n Roller Tour where we go to music festivals and ride roller coasters.

I am pursuing a doctorate of strategic leadership for the challenge more than anything. Being self-employed and at (currently) 50 years old, I do not need this degree for career advancement but I am always looking for ways to continue to learn. Who knows, as I progress through the program I may find a higher calling.

My expectations are to be challenged and to learn and hopefully teach an old dog a new trick or two. Having been self-employed my entire life I have always been my own boss, manager, and decision-maker. I need to challenge myself with new ideas and processes to take my business to the next level. I look forward to connecting with each of you and wish you well in your studies.

My research interests include: Using expedition leadership as a model in the corporate environment and hope to use this for my applied research project in this program. Other project ideas are strategic management of small family-run firms, and experiential learning for team building in a small firm. Also, I just recently partnered up with a SCUBA instructor to do a study on safety protocol for recreational diving. This project suits my interests in sports management as the recreational SCUBA diving industry has little to no safety protocols after a person is certified as a diver, which you only have to do once in your life. This is much needed in the industry.

The pic above is my team of sled dogs and me on a run around the block, as I call it. We have several hundred miles right outside our back door and it is my slice of utopia.

One important fact, before we go much further together. I am far from religious and my choice to attend Liberty was for the program, not necessarily a Christian worldview. While I am faithful I am not one that you will find in a church every Sunday. I grew up in a family where we attended church for weddings and funerals and that is about it.

The truth of the matter is, I struggle to find ways to incorporate scripture and biblical research in my academic work, and do you know what? That is okay. I am perfectly fine with it.

I bet you struggle at times too.

I am far from perfect and I have had my share of bumps along the way. I have learned from my mistakes and hope that I am a better man, father, community leader, and academic because of it.

All that being said, I am glad that you are here.

 

via GIPHY

UPDATE November 2022:

This is actually an updated post that I am writing at Week 78 of my doctorate program at Liberty University.

Over the last two years, I have taken eight classes: BMAL 700, 702, 703, 704, 710, 714, 716, 727 and wanted to do an update since a lot of people have been asking for a way to search my site for particular classes and/or topics. I am in the process of updating each post and eventually, this will be a great place to find and share resources for my peers in the Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) program.

I want to give a huge shoutout to all of my peers that have been reading my posts as they navigate through this DSL journey.

You are right, there are not a lot of resources out there.

While this blog is by no means a complete source, my hope is that fellow scholars can see my papers and maybe get a takeaway or two.

My goal has always been to upload my research papers and projects from the program as PDFs so that other scholars in the program can see what is expected. I don’t always get full points, but at 50 years old, I learned long ago that there is no reason to strive for perfection in everything you do. Concentrate on what matters and everything will work out in the end.

If you like what you read, please comment and share with your friends. If you have advice or resources you would like to share, please do that as well.

Oh, if you are on Twitter, I highly encourage you to follow the hashtags, #AcademicChatter and #AcademicTwitter both are great threads with advice, motivation, and a very supportive community and if you wouldn’t mind, give me a follow at @robertforto and send me a tweet letting me know you found my blog helpful!

Also, my wife Michele is getting deep into her Master’s program as well and is almost halfway done! Please do me a favor and follow her over on LinkedIn.

One last thing… If you like what you are reading and want to show your support, please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or clicking on any of the ads that you see on the page. This goodwill gesture is not to become rich, I wish, but a show of encouragement.

Hope to connect with you along the way, and please reach out if you have any questions!

Filed Under: 30 Days About Me, Alaska, Daily Post, Midlife in College Tagged With: alaska, alaska dog works, BMAL 700, BMAL 702, BMAL 703, BMAL 704, BMAL 710, BMAL 714, BMAL 716, BMAL 720, BMAL 727, doctor of strategic leadership, doctorate, DSL, liberty university, Michele Forto, mid life in college, robert forto, Team Ineka

Week 35 of 130 (BMAL 704)

January 3, 2021 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Week 35 of approximately 130 is in the books in my doctorate program.

We are still on winter break so not a lot of school-related news to report.

Score: */*

To read the paper:

 

Filed Under: Alaska, Daily Post, Midlife in College Tagged With: BMAL 704, DSL

Week 34 of 130 (BMAL 710 and BMAL 704)

December 28, 2020 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Week 34 of approximately 130 is in the books in my doctorate program.

I finished my second semester as a doctorate student. It was a tough class but I got an A in BMAL704 and I am looking forward to my next class, BMAL710, Understanding the Organization. which starts in about a month.

Michele will be joining the Liberty family as well as she starts her Master’s journey in Interdisciplinary  Studies.

When are we back to leadership? I thought this was a leadership degree!

Score: 190/200

Final Grade: A

To read the paper:

Forto, R., Case Study Project

Filed Under: Daily Post, Midlife in College Tagged With: BMAL 704, BMAL 710, DSL

Week 33 of 130 (BMAL 704 and BMAL 710)

December 18, 2020 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Week 33 of approximately 130 is in the books in my doctorate program.

This week I finished up one of the hardest classes to date, BMAL704, Organizational Change. For the final paper I had to write a 15-page essay on the best practices of organizational change based on Kotter’s model and evaluate three case studies using the literature and best practices. It took me seven hours from start to finish with my butt in the chair.

Now, almost a month off until the next course start, BMAL710, Understanding the Organization.

When are we back to leadership? I thought this was a leadership degree!

Score: */200

To read the paper:

Forto, R., Case Study Project

Filed Under: Daily Post, Midlife in College Tagged With: BMAL 704, BMAL 710, DSL

Week 32 of 130 (BMAL 704)

December 13, 2020 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Week 32 of approximately 130 is in the books in my doctorate program.

This week in BMAL704 an exciting project on a succession plan for a family firm (my own) utilizing the literature and Kotters eight-step model for implementing major change. It was interesting because we can literally use this moving forward in our own business. How cool is that!

Score: 190/200

To read the paper:

Family Firm Succession and Change

Filed Under: Daily Post, Midlife in College Tagged With: BMAL 704, DSL

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