ACC-APG Employee Leads the Way In Education

By Betsy Kozak-HowardJanuary 29, 2015

Steve Evans
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.--Self-described as an advocate for education, Steve Evans has always pursued opportunities for higher learning. With this credo, it's not surprising that he recently completed a doctorate degree from Capella University, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Information Security.

"It was a challenge, but getting a Ph.D. was something that I wanted to accomplish," said Evans, a procurement information analyst with the Army Contracting Command -- Aberdeen Proving Ground. "Education opens doors and at some point in the future, I would like to be a strategic leader within the government."

His journey began in 2008. At the time, he was an operations noncommissioned officer with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He had just completed his Master of Business Administration and Evans questioned whether he should continue his education. After taking some time to consider, Evans moved forward and applied for the doctoral program. Also at this time, the 39-year-old retired from the Army, accepted a job with ACC-APG and moved his family to Maryland. As if he wasn't busy enough, Evans also made arrangements to continue his part-time teaching job with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System through distant learning methods.

"I enjoy working with information technology and knew this was the career path for me," Evans explained. "I think technology is the way of the future and I want to be part of it."

His doctoral coursework began with instructor-led online courses. Also included were three residency colloquia which were three-day events that provided face-to-face instruction and advising from mentors, professors and fellow doctoral students.

"The whole Ph.D. process went far beyond what I thought it was going to be," he said. "I learned so much along the way -- solving problems, leadership skills, critical thinking and perseverance. You need assistance to earn a Ph.D. -- it's not something you can do on your own." At the mid-point of his degree workload, Evans was preparing to face the dreaded comprehensive exam when he considered quitting the program.

"The coursework was stressful and I was dealing with family pressure," recalled the father of three children. "I asked myself if I really needed this degree and was it worth it. I picked up the phone to call my counselor, ready to quit the program. Then, I realized that I couldn't quit and I hung up the phone. I had to set the example for my children."

Next, Evans focused on the comprehensive exam. He said it was a rigorous exam that determined his right of passage to the final portion of his degree. "This was my sink-or-swim moment," recalled Evans. "I was given three questions and I had to write approximately 20 pages per question, including resources. I had one week to complete the assignment and I was sweating."

After passing the comprehensive exam, Evans began preparing his proposal for his research dissertation. His dissertation title was "Resistance to Technology, Evolving from Paper Contracting to Electronic Contracting: A Case Study of Army Contracting."

"Throughout the Ph.D. evolution, you are continually sharpening your skills and applying what you've learned. The dissertation is a culmination of the Ph.D. coursework. My 20-page dissertation proposal outlined how I would conduct my research and my methods of research. I submitted the proposal for Scientific Merit Review to assess if I would obtain the results I was looking for with the methods I selected."

He said the review with revisions took three months. Next, the Internal Review Board analyzed his processes to ensure the protection of participants in the research study. He passed the IRB and received the green light to begin the dissertation. "I was now considered a Ph.D. candidate, with authority to conduct research, granted by the school."

According to Evans, he conducted in-person interviews with 20 participants for his dissertation research, which included recording, transcribing and analyzing the data received. After dedicating three years writing the 121-page dissertation, with several revisions, Evans submitted his work for review. It took six months to evaluate but he achieved his Ph.D. in December 2014.

"I'm glad that I achieved my Ph.D.," concluded Evans. "This achievement was well worth it and has prepared me for future challenges."