Congratulations Dr. Dys!
Sarah Dys, MPA, PhD of the IOA successfully defended her dissertation in November so we wanted to spotlight her gerontology journey.
What brought you to gerontological research?
Dr. Paula Carder! In 2016, I was wrapping up a Masters in Public Administration and looking for my next step. I was applying to both career options and PhD programs with a budding interest in public health. My job while going to school involved facilitating injury prevention educational workshops, though mostly focused on children and adolescents. However, falls prevention became a significant interest. My writing sample for these applications was a policy brief investigating community-based falls prevention programming and services for older adults. I had applied to the Community Health program at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and began talking to Dr. Carder. A few emails and phone calls turned into a visit to Portland from the east coast! She essentially said that if gerontology was even a smidge on my radar, I had a home here. Been pursuing research in service to older adults ever since.
How did you celebrate defending your dissertation?
First, I was surprised with a lovely dinner in celebration coordinated by my colleagues the day of. My parents, sister, and aunt flew in from Massachusetts and New York to spend the weekend celebrating with me! We got an AirBnB in North Portland and spent the weekend playing board games and drinking lots of wine. Then as a graduation present, my husband planned a weekend getaway to Olympic National Forest where we…. played board games and drank lots of wine 😊 I am so grateful and feel so privileged to be surrounded by so many people in my life with whom I can celebrate this occasion with!
What was it like having your dissertation back to back with GSA?
Not an experience I would recommend. While the dates worked out on paper, I didn’t really allow myself much time for rest. However, it was really nice to have colleagues introduce me as “Dr. Dys” and receive congratulations from a community of scholars whom I admire.
What is on the horizon for Doctor Dys?
Learning how to enter this next phase of my life both personally and professionally. I am what they call a straight through student… got my Bachelors in 2015, Masters in 2016, and immediately started a doctoral degree. I have no idea what it’s like not to be in school! I am currently working full time for Vital Research, a social science research and evaluation firm based in Los Angeles. They coordinate many large scale research projects related to older adults and people living with disabilities, quality of life, and satisfaction with services. Perhaps I will have an opportunity to breathe and re-structure what my day to day looks like.
What do you want people to know about the field of aging?
Gerontology is the most interdisciplinary field I can think of. Biology, health, social science, history, art, literature, entertainment, finance, business, you name it, it can intersect with aging. I am so happy I discovered the field of aging when I did, because now I want to dedicate a career in service to older adults. Our population is aging SO fast, and it has been for decades. Folks can’t be discovering gerontology for the first time during a terminal degree program. We should be injecting a life course perspective in our physical environment, education, and media. I can only think of the benefits of increasing multilevel intergenerational interactions.
