Simone Freeman-Irwin MAHE ’23 first came to Geneva in 2014 as an undergraduate student and is now enrolled in Geneva’s Master of Arts in Higher Education (MAHE).

After her undergraduate study, Simone joined the Peace Corps in Botswana, and was then pursuing a teaching fellowship in Germany when she received a call from Geneva faculty member Terry Thomas, PhD, about a graduate assistant opening at Geneva in student ministry.

“Although it didn’t make full logical or financial sense to come here, I decided to come here because I needed to be obedient to what God was calling me to do.”

Each one of Geneva’s MAHE students goes through rigorous research for their capstone in their final year of study. Simone submitted her research proposal last month and is now deep into her academic research and writing.

“This program has reshaped me and reframed the way I learn and think about things. I know a flame has been lit in me to create platforms of education and learning for other people. My passion for teaching has been lit and
that is what I am pursuing.”

Simone’s research centers on what the student experience looks like for students of color and marginalized students. Specifically, her research focuses on how these students thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and in community.

“We are an institution that presents itself as Christ-centered. God cares about His people; He cares about His people practicing the faith we claim to live by. If it has been clearly identified that there are marginalized groups, we need to constantly evaluate what we can do. If we are not doing this, we are doing a disservice not only to those students, but also to the Kingdom of God.”

Simone views her research as imperative to Geneva, Christian education, and the higher education industry as a whole. Serving marginalized students well means serving the entire body well.

“I am hopeful this kind of research can cause higher education to look at the current curriculum, student activities, faculty engagement — and really everything — to make us evaluate the systems we currently have to create better and equitable services to the students we are currently serving and will continue to serve.”

Simone’s research includes interviews with marginalized students on Geneva's campus. The responses to a series of questions will be analyzed for commonalities and outliers. Combined with past research done by other schools and evaluations of actions and practices taken at other institutions, Simone’s research will result in a proposed plan for future action.