The Power of Purpose

When working on his dissertation for his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD) degree earlier in 2025, Aaron Pryor, Assistant Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), focused on a student population he was familiar with in both work and his own life—first-generation students from low-income backgrounds.

“Among the things that came through in my findings was a heavy focus on the power of finding purpose and the power of creating meaning for oneself as determining factors for students finding success in higher education,” Pryor explains.

It was something he could identify with personally. Pryor’s educational journey started as it does for many others, unfortunately—feeling lost. College wasn’t originally in the plan for him after graduating high school in 2005. However, a high school mentor—a math teacher—pushed him to give himself a chance at expanding his education.

“He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Pryor recalls.

He took the advice of his mentor and applied to Purdue University, where he was accepted. However, he found himself still lost in the process. “I did that thing where first-generation college students kind of choose a profession and you don’t know anything about it,” he says.

Unfortunately, even with financial aid, the cost of attending was not possible for Pryor. So, he pivoted his plan. He decided to attend Owensboro Community College as an undecided major. “During that first year, I went into exploration mode,” he says. He took a course similar to USI’s UNIV 101 class and used it as an opportunity to figure out what he wanted in a career and what would fit him.

It was this experience that introduced Pryor to social work. “I wasn’t quite sure what social work was at the time, but I had an essence. Growing up, my mom’s work was always social services adjacent, so I was familiar with the field,” he explains. “I felt like amongst everything else, social work was something that jumped out and almost felt like more of a calling.”

Transferring to USI to work toward a bachelor’s degree in social work after earning his associate’s degree only solidified the calling for Pryor even more. “I’ve always been about social change, about helping people and making a difference,” he says.

His senior year at USI, Pryor landed an internship with Aurora—a nonprofit organization that serves the homeless and near homeless in the Greater Evansville area. This internship had him working with some of who he felt were the “best social workers” in the area, he says, which in turn taught him a great deal about the field of social work. “I was really lucky timing wise when I was getting my bachelor’s degree in social work here at USI. Not only with my internship at Aurora but a lot of the heavy hitters in the social work field were here as faculty members.”

All of this cemented for Pryor his passion for helping others and assured him he was on the right career track. After graduating from USI in 2010 with his bachelor’s, he took a full-time position at Aurora. For some, the rest might be history. But for Pryor, after three years at Aurora, he felt like there was more.

“I started thinking about what the next step in my journey was, and that led me back to USI, getting a master’s in social work,” he says. “The master’s level is all about clinical work, all about therapy. So, it made sense, like a natural evolution.”

Pryor would earn his master’s in just a year. “It was a crazy time in my life. In that same year, I bought my first house, I got engaged and married as well, and was working full time,” he says. “It was a lot.”

And once again, after earning his master’s in 2014, Pryor asked himself what the next step was. He took time to explore possible jobs that incorporated work he was interested in and passionate about. Along with social work, Pryor says education has always been an interest, so he began to look at universities—including his alma mater, USI.

“It felt natural to start looking, and I found an academic counselor position open in TRIO. I didn’t know what TRIO was, but I applied for the position,” he says. “And it turned out to be one of the best fits. I got to work with students who had a similar background to myself—first-generation, low income. And I was able to help them work through their barriers to succeeding in higher education.”

By coming to work at USI, he found a new career path open to him—using his social work skills in higher education. After seven years in the TRIO department (the last few years as the Director of TRIO), the question he had asked himself many times before came up once again.

What’s next?

At that time, the Doctor of Education program was in its infancy at USI, with a track in education leadership confirmed. For Pryor, that path made sense, so he enrolled. “USI just can’t shake me,” he jokes. “My doctorate will be my third degree from USI.”

Looking back, as he prepares to walk to accept his doctorate, Pryor says he’s doing self-reflection about his journey. “I’ve been constantly flashing back to the idea that I didn’t think I was going to go to college. And so, to be on this side of the journey, it’s kind of humbling and shocking when I put too much thought into it,” he shares. “And because of my daily work now as a therapist in CAPS, I see people who are in the early stages of that same struggle I had.”

“I get to use my journey to really understand our students in a different capacity, which is helpful. It allows me to truly believe in the words said to students about helping them realize their potential,” Pryor adds.

It comes back to what he presented in his dissertation for his doctorate—the power of finding purpose. Despite the barriers in his life, Pryor was able to identify a purpose and meaning through his passion for social work. USI has not only helped him realize that purpose educationally, but in his career as well.

“To understand how powerful it is to know what purpose and meaning can do for you and then be in a position where that is something I can help students seek has been affirming,” he says.

With his Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 9, Pryor says he’s excited about the conclusion of this part of his journey for different reasons than others might expect. “What I’m excited about is having my kids there. As a first-generation college student, there really is that sense of getting a chance to break the pattern and change the mold,” he says. “This is a significant event that I can represent to my kids, showing them this is what they can accomplish.”