It’s not often that a student who dropped out of high school goes on to pursue a Ph.D., but that’s the story of Neag School of Education doctoral student Kristi Kaeppel.

Kaeppel, who studies Adult Learning in the Learning, Leadership, and Educational Policy program, runs a blog called “That Wasn’t on the Syllabus” for the Graduate Certificate in College Instruction program as a graduate assistant. Her blog posts on college education trends and issues included one very personal to her experience: “What Being a High School Dropout Taught Me about Teaching.”

Julie Bartucca from the UConn 360 podcast sat down with Kaeppel to talk about how her background informs her research today, and about her other research on topics including women supporting each other in academia.

For the full podcast and other episodes, visit uconn.edu/uconn360-podcast.