Sarah Glova ‘18 PHD: Advocating for Individualized Instruction and Digital Learning

Sarah Glova ‘18 PHD founded Reify Media, a web development and digital media company, in 2012. Earning her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the NC State College of Education only fueled Glova’s passion for innovative digital learning solutions.

Name: Sarah Glova
Hometown: Cary, NC
Field of Study: Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Instructional Technology
Activities: Business owner, avid reader, sporadic runner, self-described comma nerd, and zealous coffee addict.
What’s Next: Will continue leading my startup, Reify Media, and working with our incredible team on cutting-edge instructional design and eLearning projects.

What do you hope to accomplish in your field after graduation?

I have a unique opportunity to partner with companies and associations that are taking their education and compliance initiatives online. I hope to continue being a voice for adult learners, advocating for systems and strategies that empower learners to leverage individualized, engaging, impactful instruction. I hope that means I can continue to suggest cutting-edge active learning strategies that can be facilitated in digital environments, no matter where my career path leads.

What’s your favorite memory from your time at the College of Education?
In 2013, I traveled to Guilford, England with a cohort of College of Education graduate students. We studied writing, English, pedagogy, and history in an immersive environment. We created these incredible digital portfolios, explored Europe, trekked around castles and gardens, learned about learning cultures around the world, and came home with new stamps in our passports and new ideas for our classrooms. It was an incredible adventure that I’ll never forget.

What was your favorite class at the College of Education?

I took a class on qualitative research that I unexpectedly loved. I had expected that the research methods courses would be the most difficult and cumbersome, but in learning about the qualitative methods I found my niche as an education researcher. It was like a whole world of possibilities were opened up to me, and I better understood the studies that I was reading and that influenced my work and research. I still have all the articles and textbooks from that class!

Tell us about a faculty member who has influenced you.
I took multiple classes with Dr. Meghan Manfra, and I asked her to be the chair of my dissertation committee. She influenced me in so many ways; as an educator, I learned a lot from her about empathetic approaches to understanding students; as a researcher, I learned about interdisciplinary ways to approach research topics; as a mom and wife, I learned a lot from her example of how to balance and integrate family responsibilities. During my years in this program, I took a semester off for maternity leave, and she was so helpful and supportive during that time. She’s a wonderful professor, mentor, and role model, and I am so glad to have met her.