Dr. Ranabelle Stroh (left) is joined by her late mother, who remains a constant source of strength and inspiration for the Western Education alum.
Transformative growth and lifelong learning
There’s a very important painting that hangs inside the office of Dr. Ranabelle Stroh.
Painted by her cousin, it depicts a blossoming tree, standing isolated, but tall atop a plot of otherwise lifeless soil.
For the Western Education alum, who recently obtained her Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership, it’s a symbol of lifelong learning and transformative growth, two underpinning values for both her career and education.
It also represents Stroh’s model for student success.
“If you look at the bottom, you see the roots, if you look at the branches, you see some of the community supports that you are going to cross paths with,” Stroh said.
“There are a lot of contributing factors and a lot of contributing people that play a role in someone’s success. If you look at it from a holistic perspective, it’s never really a straight line.”
A champion of this model, Stroh’s own journey is one that has veered in many directions but was guided by the people who make up the roots of her own blossoming tree.
For Stroh, she began her journey as a young child in the Philippines who was unsure of what the future held.
A chance at a new future
“We barely had two nickels to afford three meals a day,” Stroh said of some of her earliest memories in the Philippines.
“As a child, you don’t really know that there are a lot of things out there that you are not able to experience.”
Stroh was seven years old when her family relocated to Canada. Being raised by a single mother, Stroh remembers her aunts, uncles and grandparents offering much-needed assistance, but even with the help, her mother still had to work three jobs to support her children.
“She demonstrated this sense of pride and showed what it really means to provide for your family,” Stroh said, adding that her mother remains one of her biggest inspirations.
At school, Stroh found it difficult transitioning to an environment filled with a language she didn’t speak and a culture she didn’t know. At times, she felt judged because of the colour of her skin.
Still, she was determined to take advantage of the opportunity her mother sacrificed so much for.
“It was my chance at a future that I never once really dreamt of.”
In the following decades, Stroh went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Saskatchewan, followed by a Master of Education soon after.
A few years later, she would return to higher education to pursue her EdD in Educational Leadership.
When asked why, Stroh’s response is simple.
“It was my daughter,” Stroh said.
“Having the knowledge I have now, and as a mother, I never want my child to experience any of the difficulties I faced.”
Since the beginning of the three-year program, Stroh had her eyes set on using this scholarly opportunity to redefine student success. Still, there was the question of how she would get there.
“I had a vision of where I wanted to get to, but the middle piece is what the program was able to offer,” she added.
“It really widened my perspective, it really challenged my own personal biases, it really helped me embrace that holistic view. It really brought me outside of my comfort zone to see student success from many different perspectives.”
Stroh’s work in the EdD program culminated in the publication of her Dissertation in Practice, “Defining Student Success from a Holistic Perspective,” which explored the use of the Kahkisiw model in a postsecondary setting.
This model views “student success as a process of flourishing in all facets of human development and well-being,” Stroh writes in her dissertation. Kahkisiw is a Cree word that means s/he is whole
“The most prevalent definitions of student success often relate to retention and statistical data. I want to ensure that my definition considers the uniqueness of each student as a whole,” Stroh said of her dissertation.
“That’s what I hope my daughter sees – there’s a lot that students can offer the world, you just need to pave the way and cultivate those spaces, so that they are able to embrace those capabilities. I think that’s what every educational system should do.”
Becoming Dr. Stroh
When she finally crossed the stage at Alumni Hall in October 2023, Stroh remembers feeling the presence of her entire family at convocation.
“I’m the first one to graduate with a master’s, I’m also the first one to graduate with a doctorate, so I certainly wear that with pride,” Stroh said.
Her Doctor of Education degree also provided another avenue for giving back, something she always sought to do throughout her entire life.
“Education is all-encompassing. That’s one of the reasons I went into education in the first place, along with me wanting to emulate my own mother’s perseverance for my daughter,” Stroh added.
“Transforming Lives and Transforming Education really speaks to me because I want to be someone in education who advocates for transformational growth.”
Since becoming Dr. Stroh, the Western Education alum is now leading the implementation of the Kahkisiw model at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT), a First Nations-governed educational institution with several campuses and sites throughout the province.
Stroh serves as SIIT’s Director of Student Wellness Supports and is leading the Kahkisiw model’s implementation alongside two other partnering colleges in the province.
Speaking to future aspirations, Stroh hopes to one day see the model used to support students and leaders all over Canada.
“Right now, we have a prime opportunity to challenge ourselves beyond our comforts,” she added.
“I don’t know exactly what’s next, but I do know this is not where my journey ends.”
