Pickens-Young, 36, a doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, has been selected as one of six graduate students in the country — and first ever in Oklahoma — to receive the prestigious federal Head Start Graduate Student Research Grant, which is an award of about $25,000.

The grant will go toward her dissertation studying teaching teams at local Head Start and Early Head Start programs, specifically on how those teams affect classroom quality and child outcomes. Her findings are expected to be examined across the country because of a lack of data in the early childhood education research literature. Her focus is on how brain research connects to parenting styles.

“I want to be able to understand research in a practical, easy manner,” Pickens-Young said. “This grant will open opportunities to lead me in that direction. ... I want to see more information out there so parents can understand it.”

Pickens-Young plans to complete in May a doctorate in instructional leadership and academic curriculum in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at OU-Tulsa. She also works as a project director for the Early Childhood Education Institute at OU-Tulsa.

This interest began as a child growing up in Ardmore with two brothers and a single mother, who had her first baby as a teenager. Head Start was her introduction to school.

“I still remember my teachers and try to stay in touch with them and their children. In Ardmore, everybody knows everybody,” she said. “That’s where I got my start. I remember it being fun with plays, songs and the centers. My teachers were very loving. That stood out more than anything. Looking back, I thought school was a fun place to be and took a liking to it.

“More than anything, it gave me the foundation to want to learn and to know that school is a great place to be. There is so much research showing the impact of having a positive teacher for (a child’s) first three academic years. That was true for me. I love going to school, and that stayed with me, obviously, up until this point. I still have same love of learning.”

Pickens-Young graduated from Langston University in 2003 with an elementary education degree. Her experience includes working as a teacher at a church, serving as director of the child development center at the YMCA Hutcherson branch and teaching children at the Tulsa Head Start program, administered by the Community Action Project. While at Tulsa’s Head Start, she was a lead preschool teacher, master teacher and coach for new teachers.

After completing a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University-Tulsa in curriculum leadership and development, she wanted to delve more into research of early education, from birth to 4 years old.

“I’m most interested in the early ages,” she said. “It’s my focus and something I’m passionate about because of my own experience with Head Start, having a sweet and loving teacher and being a Head Start teacher.”

To apply for the federal grant, Pickens-Young completed an application of about 100 pages. Applicants were judged based on the significance of research questions, design and methodology, management plans, collaborative partner relationships, budget, personal qualifications, and mentorship. Her mentor is Dr. Diane Horm, the director of the OU-Tulsa Early Childhood Education Institute.

“We knew Emisha’s unique experience of attending Head Start as a child and having worked as a Head Start teacher for more than six years made her an extremely strong candidate,” Horm said in a written statement. “She is a Head Start success story, and living Head Start’s mission of delivering high-quality early childhood education to children growing up in poverty gave her a unique vantage point.”