When Dorothy Jean Tillman II was awarded the degree to pursue her doctorate from Arizona State University in November 2023, you probably weren't expecting to share the news with your best friend.
“This is a surrealist moment,” Tillman says, “because I found myself wallowing in the first place.”
Tillman was active from a young age, earning her doctorate in holistic health management from Arizona State University's College of Health Solutions and winning the right to vote at the age of 17. Tillman attended Arizona State University's commencement ceremony 18 years ago and gave a speech about the students scheduled to graduate in 2024 as part of the College of Health Solutions' graduation activities.
Leslie Munson, director of Arizona State University’s Leading Health Doctoral Program and professor in the Tillman doctoral program, said she exhibits extraordinary perseverance, hard work and dedication toward all of her goals.
“She can be an example to follow,” Manson said.
Tillman is one of my family and friends, a DJ, who raised her children from a young age. She was born in Chicago, educated in a very small home, first taking group online classes, and met her mother, Jimalita Tillman, who had a background in community theater.
Tillman is part of a program aimed at children before they are homeschooled. Himalita Tillman put her daughter on the fast track for eight years, and she completed prep classes. Tillman was her children's school president for nine years, and after studying math and lectures, she enrolled in an online college.
During these events, Vivian met the mother of Himalita Tillman (Dorothy Wright Tillman), a civil law activist who worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and championed the ideals of Chicago. Tillman was like a grandma to her (thanks to the “II” at the end of his name).
During college, Tillman worked at a Starbucks in Chicago for a few years, and the next day she married Abraham Lynch. Your favorite drink is a stiff green covered in lemon.
“The computer was locked away while the kids were in bed,” Tillman said, crediting his grandmother for his expertise and focus.
From an early age, Tillman grew up in a family that taught high-achieving students, took the majority of her classes online, and found herself to be a very social person. “I love meeting new people, talking about new things, learning new things, and finding out how the brain works,” she said. Through extracurricular activities, she also discovered other ways to manage through social interactions with friends.
in Psychology from the University of Lake County in Illinois (10 years), Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Excelsior College in New York (12 years), and Master of Science from Unity College in Maine (14 years). These fields are valuable because they can help scientists understand “how people are treated in secondary environments.” Kids Time Interviewed in July 2020.
Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston University; Gifted Children: Myths and RealityShe says kids like Tillman have a strong motivation to make her feel infuriated, like “rage at the rulers.”
“One of the answers to the question: what do I learn, what do I know about myself, the great abilities that come from who I am, the results are easy and very good,” she says. Schools are not prepared for gifted children, and it is not clear whether parents can educate their children at home. This contrapartita, consisting of her and several other experts, is working on the socialization process and has decided to learn with young children.
“There's no perfect solution here for kids,” Winner said.
Jimalita Tillman says she doesn't feel safe with her daughter being denied higher education without her teacher's permission. Tillman started an organization to help get Chicago youth interested in STEM and the arts. She enrolled in the Dorothy Genius STEAM Leadership Institute in 2020, near the beginning of the pandemic.
She was surprised when her daughter asked to get a PhD and even underwent treatment with Disadira, but Tillman is also seeking mental health advice from young people, as her mom confessed to her.
“Tube following your example,” Jimalita Tillman wrote 42 years ago.
Tillman enrolled in an online doctoral program in management at Arizona State University's School of Health Solutions for a dissertation on developing a program to reduce stigma among undergraduate students working in mental health services, based on ongoing practical research at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Tillman believes that her background has inspired her to meet women who are very outgoing and talkative, “who want to know me, but are also very smart.”
I declare, “Do you know anyone who brings this energy, this wisdom, this enthusiasm, and this class and beautiful style?”
Tillman may be a PhD candidate, but he is also a passionate fan of things from his youth, and may be helping him get his diploma: I'm sorry, but my best friend's companion was at my graduation, and he was in an Escalade truck with technical staff, and he loved it, and he talks about the impact she really had on her mother.
“I was spending time one day enjoying the 'summer youth pastime,'” Tillman said, focusing on school and professional activities and planning the institute's new spring campaign. “I was trying to find something I liked, find new enthusiasts, and make it happen in my own way.”
“I was fascinated by that kind of person,” he said.