Three recent NC State College of Education alumni were recognized for their scholarship when they were presented with Outstanding Dissertation Awards during the college’s May 2025 graduation ceremony.
Victor James Cadilla ’25PHD won for the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development; Bethany Lewis ’25PHD won for the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences and Joey Marion ’24PHD won for the Department of STEM Education.
You can learn more about these recent graduates and their dissertations in the pieces below.
Victor James Cadilla
Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development educational evaluation and policy analysis concentration
Dissertation Title: Can Protecting Civil Rights Influence Student Outcomes? Three Studies of Office for Civil Rights Resolution Agreements
Advisors: Associate Professor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Jenn Ayscue and Assistant Professor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Lam Pham
When Victor Cadilla was a classroom teacher, he taught in a school district that entered into several resolution agreements with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). He assumed these agreements would lead to policy changes within his district but noticed that things really didn’t change.
When he enrolled in the NC State College of Education to earn his Ph.D. and took a class with Associate Professor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Jenn Ayscue, his interest in this issue only deepened, prompting him to dedicate his dissertation work to making sense of what he experienced as a teacher and to understand how students’ civil rights are protected in schools.
“I am sincerely honored by this [Outstanding Dissertation] Award,” Cadilla said. “Coming from not having any experience in research to winning this award, it feels like it validates the work I’ve put in during my time in this doctoral program. It also gives me hope that people see the importance of understanding OCR and what it means for students and schools.”
Cadilla’s dissertation investigates the construction and efficacy of resolution agreements made between the Office for Civil Rights and school districts and examines the factors that go into these agreements. Through his two studies, Cadilla’s research found that resolution agreements may be more or less effective at addressing areas of non-compliance with civil rights laws based on a number of factors.
He credits his work with faculty and other graduate students in the College of Education not only with his academic success, but in preparing him for his post-grad career.
“These opportunities to work with faculty were critical in helping me understand so much about doing education research,” he said.
Bethany Lewis
Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences literacy and English language arts education concentration
Dissertation Title: Advancing Elementary Multilingual Learners: An Investigation of Writing Research, Teacher Experiences, and Genre-Based Compositions
Advisors: Associate Professor of Literacy Education Angela Wiseman and Assistant Professor of Literacy Education Jackie Relyea
As a former elementary school teacher, Bethany Lewis always loved to teach writing. Through her students’ writing, she learned about their lives, cultures, thoughts, personalities and feelings, and her goal each year was to have as many students as possible leave her class saying that writing was their favorite subject.
However, Lewis realized early in her career that she was not always prepared to support her students who were multilingual learners. This led to her beginning a journey to learn more about evidence-based literacy instruction for multilingual learners and, ultimately, to her deciding to enroll in the College of Education to earn her Ph.D.
“A Ph.D. and my ensuing dissertation became a formal avenue for increasing my knowledge of literacy and writing and built upon my interest in providing multilingual learners the literacy support they needed and deserved,” she said.
Lewis’ dissertation consisted of three articles that focused on elementary multilingual learners and their writing development. The first article was a systematic review that examined the current landscape of research related to elementary multilingual writers, the second detailed a phenomenology about teachers’ experiences as they supported multilingual leaders to develop into strong writers, and the third shared a quantitative study that investigated early literacy skills and their relationship with young multilingual learners’ argumentative writing outcomes.
Results of the study indicated that specific foundational literacy skills — including oral language skills, domain-specific vocabulary instruction and emphasis on early reading abilities — may be related to the advancement of multilingual learners’ writing abilities.
“The Outstanding Dissertation Award affirms the value of the work I’ve poured my heart into and motivates me to continue contributing to the educational field,” Lewis said. “I definitely could not have completed this dissertation alone. So, this award reminds me how grateful I am to the College of Education faculty members and to all the graduate students that I am lucky enough to call colleagues and friends.”
As she moves on to her next step after graduation, as a clinical assistant professor of elementary education at the University of Alabama, Lewis said that she is grateful not only for the support of her advisors, Associate Professor of Literacy Education Angela Wiseman and Assistant Professor of Literacy Education Jackie Relyea, but for the experiences she had during her time in the College of Education.
With opportunities that included a graduate assistantship, serving as a research assistant, delivering conference presentations and mentoring undergraduate students, Lewis said she feels well prepared for her post-doctoral journey. Most impactful, she said, was the chance to teach in the college’s elementary education program, where she witnessed students’ passion for teaching.
“Teaching in NC State’s elementary education program has been one of the most rewarding and impactful experiences,” she said. “As such, I knew that after graduation, I wanted to continue to work within a supportive college of education program with spirited undergraduates who wanted to develop into great teachers and provide strong instruction to their students.”
Joey Marion
Ph.D. in Learning and Teaching in STEM science education concentration
Dissertation Title: Examining the Relationship between Autonomy and Sense of Belonging among Aspiring Healthcare Providers in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology Courses
Advisor: Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor of Science Education Soonhye Park
Coming from a medical background, there were times Joey Marion felt uncertain about his interests and ideas as they related to education.
A licensed physical therapist who pursued anatomical sciences education, he practiced clinically for a while before deciding to teach. It was during this process that he became interested in student motivation in science courses and enrolled in the College of Education to earn a doctoral degree.
“During my time at NC State, I merged my interests of healthcare education, science education, student motivation and nontraditional classroom constructs into my dissertation work,” Marion said “My hope is that my scholarly career will contribute to improving academic and healthcare disparities by examining issues at the postsecondary level. The focus of my dissertation is a small step in that direction.”
Marion’s dissertation was a mixed-methods study that explores student autonomy as a predictor for sense of belonging among undergraduate students in anatomy and physiology courses who aspire to enter careers in healthcare.
The study examines differences among various demographic groups and perceptions of autonomy and belonging, as well as barriers to each, investigating factors that affect academic persistence.
Marion feels that his dissertation work was the perfect blend of his previous career experiences and his new endeavor in higher education, and believes that receiving the Outstanding Dissertation Award not only validates his perspective but confirms that it has been understood and valued.
Now an assistant professor at Western Carolina University, Marion credits his advisor, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Soonhye Park, as well as the members of his dissertation committee — Professor of Science Education Carla Johnson, Professor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Anna Egalite and Associate Professor of Science Education James Minogue — and faculty and staff in the Department of STEM Education with his success during his time in the College of Education.
“I feel that I was a unique student to take on, essentially coming from a different background, but those challenges created a very interesting and enriching experience,” Marion said. “These individuals accepted the challenge and adapted to support my growth into a diverse scholar. I feel prepared to work in multiple strands including higher education research and healthcare research with clinical applications. I have a strong foundation moving forward and many unique perspectives to bring to the table.”
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