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Capella PhD sets sights on national political office

July 24, 2018

Vernon J. Fields

Vernon J. Fields has a long history of serving his country.

He once worked as a medic in the U.S. Army and for decades was employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, focusing on mental health and drug treatment. Recently, however, he retired and decided to pursue a lifelong dream: Fields, who lives in Basehor, Kansas, announced that he would seek to join the race to represent the state’s 2nd District in the U.S. Congress. Voters will decide his fate later this year.

“I’ve thought about running for national office for a while,” says Fields, who has served on his hometown’s city council since 2012. “So, when the current representative announced she would not seek reelection, I decided to throw my hat in the ring.”

Fields, who holds several degrees in nursing and earned a PhD in Human Services from Capella University in 2010, says he feels like his education and experience have prepared him to take on tough issues and find solutions to complex problems. Because his PhD focused on criminal justice, he feels especially qualified to deal with issues like crime prevention and homeland security, he says.

One thing Fields has learned as he has traveled his state and met people of all different backgrounds, is that not everyone is sure what to make of someone with their PhD. “It’s definitely a double-edged sword,” Fields says. Some Kansas residents have been impressed by his doctoral degree; others are wary that his education makes him elitist. “I have to remind people that just because I have a PhD doesn’t mean I’m above digging a ditch or serving on a food line,” he says.

Fields himself has no regrets about earning his PhD at Capella, however. “I did it purely for personal reasons,” he says. “I wanted to learn.”

Capella was his first experience with online education, and Fields was impressed with how smoothly it went. He also felt that his Capella time was demanding: “There was no way to hide in the courseroom,” he says. “You always knew that the instructors would read your post and most likely send back some feedback.”

In some sense, that prepared Fields for running for office. He has to be on his toes on the campaign trail, and he has to accept feedback graciously. Capella honed his skills in both regards. “After a lifetime of working in public institutions, I’m ready to take this on,” Fields says. “It’s another way I can put my education to work in the form of service.”

Learn more about Capella’s online human services degrees.