Alumni Profiles - Anita Phillips
Anita Phillips
Ph.D. Program
Undergraduate Major
Sociology & Social Work
Hometown
Baltimore, MD
While Anita Phillips' husband was working toward his degree in pastoral leadership two years ago, the Lord reignited in her a passion to continue her own education. At the time it seemed almost impossible. She was the mother of two small children and would soon be in full-time pastoral ministry with her husband. It was not realistic for Phillips to return to the classroom, nor had she ever considered getting her degree online.
Then Phillips found out about the Regent University Doctoral Program in Counselor Education & Supervision. "I had completed both my bachelor's degree and MSW at secular institutions," she says. "However, as I pondered pursuing my Ph.D. it was my desire to have my instructors seasoned in the faith as well as in the profession. I knew that the further integration of my counseling skills and my faith would prove invaluable to future ministry work."
One of Phillips' biggest concerns about joining an online program was the absence of personal relationships with professors and fellow students. However, Regent's cohort design and summer residencies provided the perfect answer. "In the two weeks I spent on campus during my first summer I got to know something about every one of my classmates and professors. Now each name on the screen means something to me, and helps me to know that it's not just me out there alone in cyberspace, but I'm a part of team."
Over the past year the Phillips family has been blessed beyond what they could ask or imagine. They pastor an inner-city church in Baltimore and are transforming an old public school into a community educational center. Anita Phillips has begun working with local domestic violence programs to establish spiritually and culturally appropriate services for African-American women who are victims of domestic violence. "I cannot wait to begin my second year," she says. "I have been looking forward to pursuing this degree practically my entire life. This program has proven to be about God finishing the good work He began in me years ago!"
