Sonja Montas-Hunter was always an excellent student. She excelled throughout her middle and high school career, so it came as no surprise that naturally she would excel in college.
A longtime resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., Montas-Hunter looked at her environment and realized she needed a change. So, she took a courageous leap of faith and moved to Virginia looking for a successful and bright future. Her new scenery would change her life forever.
“I went to a small town in Virginia to get my master’s degree. It was a risk I took. I knew absolutely no one. I thought, ‘what’s the worst that can happen, I go back to Brooklyn?’” said Montas-Hunter.
She never needed to move back to Brooklyn because after obtaining her master’s degree, she began a long career in higher education. After working several years in Virginia as an Upward Bound Counselor at Roanoke College and Distance Learning Director at Old Dominion University, she came to Barry University’s School of Education as the Executive Director of Migrant Education.
During her time at Barry she learned invaluable lessons from the professors in the School of Education. One of the professors that bestowed her with advice and wisdom was Carmen McCrink, PhD.
“Instead of being pigeonholed, make sure you remain current in the academic world. Be current in the trends in higher education. Not just being forced into being an administrator,” McCrink told her.
These words spoke volumes to Montas-Hunter and opened her eyes to the fact that she too could excel in her field. The atmosphere at Barry University that surrounded her gave her the inspiration to become a blessing for others.
Dr. Montas-Hunter knew that she needed to get her PhD in order to become a person who could give back to others the same opportunities that she received.
“I worked with great faculty. They were always positive and supported me in anything I wanted to do. They respected me as a professional.”
That respect propelled Montas-Hunter to take their advice and finally get her PhD
So she listened to their insight and in 2010 graduated from Barry with her PhD in education and leadership with a specialization in higher education. After her graduation, Montas-Hunter sought to help mold the minds of the youth who wanted to make an impact on the world.
“I enjoy working with students and making sure everybody has the same opportunities I had coming through the pipeline. I like higher education, I started working with students and helping them navigate college and letting them know that it is possible (to achieve your dreams). I am not much different from the students that I work with.”
In order to help these students, Montas-Hunter took her quest for knowledge to Florida International University and began working as an assistant dean in the University Graduate School.
Since joining FIU, she has created a professional development program for the graduate student community. One of the biggest impacts was increasing the funding for minority graduate students who want to earn doctoral degrees.
Montas-Hunter was recently promoted to Associate Dean of the FIU Graduate School. Her new position will allow her to continue her strategic planning to fund minority student enrollment which has been a blessing for numerous FIU students.
Montas-Hunter never expected her life to contain such blessings as it has so she is happy to return the favor.
“I was your typical city girl. You couldn’t have told me when I was 21 that I was going to have my PhD That was not something I thought of at all”
Thankfully for the students of FIU she did attain her PhD from Barry University and now can change the lives of many students and many generations of families.
For more information about Barry’s PhD program in education, visit: https://wwwlocal.barry.edu/ed/programs/doctoral.html