Out of the Ashes: A Story of Pain Redeemed and Purpose Recovered
Today, I celebrate the completion of my doctoral journey. The work is finished, the dissertation is submitted, and the title is conferred. But the road to this moment was anything but straightforward. It was a long, unpaved path of pivots and persistence, marked by profound loss and unexpected grace. This is not just the story of a degree; it is the story of a journey that reshaped my life and forged a new vision for the future of learning.
It all began at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in the UK, a place that remains one of the most formative influences on my academic and personal life. My vision was clear and deeply felt: to contribute to South Sudan’s educational landscape through an action research project that would impact the Dinka people in the Upper Nile. The dream was not just academic; it was personal. It was tied to the hope for a nation, for a community, for a future. But then, the civil war escalated. In the blink of an eye, nearly three years of hard work vanished. The loss was sharp and disorienting, but my personal grief was eclipsed by a much larger sorrow for the Miak Wadang school that was destroyed, and for the millions of my people displaced by the conflict. In that season, the focus shifted from academic pursuits to humanitarian survival, to the urgent work of Grain for Pain, helping so many people find their next meal.
Just as I was navigating this professional and national heartbreak, an even more profound, personal tragedy struck. My wife, Dianne, and I lost our first daughter. That season was a valley so deep, so dark, I wasn't sure I'd ever find my way out. It was a period of unimaginable pain, and the thought of academic work felt distant and insignificant. I thank God for His kindness and grace that carried Dianne and me through that time, holding us when we could not hold ourselves.
In the quiet aftermath of grief, I knew I had to recalibrate. I had to let go of the original vision for my South Sudan action research, a dream I had to mourn like another loss. I pivoted, embracing a new field that would become a lifelong passion: online learning, and I began developing new paradigms with Moody Distance Learning. Just as I finished my new proposal and completed the research, Dianne and I made the bold decision to move to the UK to finally complete the writing. But two months later, the pandemic hit. The world shut down, and with it, my plans were once again put on hold.
Two more years passed. Life happened, abundantly and relentlessly. And eventually, I picked up the pieces again. I found a new academic home at Kairos University, which graciously accepted my prior research and gave me the space to complete my dissertation. This time, I pivoted to a new frontier: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education. Through it all, four children, multiple jobs, ministry, and the beautiful chaos of life, I didn’t quit. It took longer than I ever imagined. It cost more than I ever expected. But the degree is finished. And the work is just starting.
From Personal Pain to a New Pedagogy
This long and winding journey, with all its brokenness and beauty, led me to a profound conviction. My experiences with loss, displacement, and the failures of systems instilled in me a deep understanding of what is at stake in education. It is never a neutral act. The Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, in his seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, argued that education can either humanize or dehumanize. An education that is merely a “banking” process, where teachers “deposit” information into the passive minds of students, is an act of oppression. Freire’s words resonated with my own story:
"The banking concept, Freire argues, serves the interests of oppression by treating students as passive objects rather than active subjects. It stifles creativity, critical thinking, and the capacity for transformation. As he notes, 'The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world.'"
This is not a theoretical concept for me. I have seen firsthand how poorly done education can reinforce systems of oppression, how it can silence voices and limit human potential. My passion for the next generation, my drive to fight against oppression, and my love for education all converged in my doctoral research. It was in this fertile ground of personal experience and academic inquiry that my life’s work found its name: Neogogy.
Neogogy is a new pedagogical framework for the age of artificial intelligence. It is a response to the urgent need for a new way of learning, one that moves beyond the industrial-era model of education and embraces the transformative potential of AI as a cognitive partner. It is a framework designed to cultivate the skills that matter most in the 21st century: adaptability, creativity, critical reasoning, and collaborative problem-solving. I am deeply grateful to Kairos University and to Dr. Anthony Blair for allowing me the space to innovate to such an extent, to take the pain of my past and forge it into a new pedagogy for the future.
The Principles of Neogogy
Neogogy is built on seven core principles that provide a roadmap for a new kind of education, one that is human centered, AI empowered, and ethically anchored.
First, Flexibility. Neogogy embraces an adaptive approach to learning design, recognizing that there is no single best way to learn. It moves beyond the rigid structures of the traditional classroom to create learning environments that are responsive to the individual needs, interests, and contexts of each learner.
Second, Integration. Neogogy seeks to break down the artificial barriers between disciplines, between the classroom and the world, and between learning and life. It fosters an integrated approach to knowledge that helps learners see the connections between different ideas and apply their learning to real world problems.
Third, Collaboration. Neogogy is a collaborative pedagogy that emphasizes the power of collective intelligence and shared inquiry. It creates learning communities where students and educators work together as co-learners, and where AI is used as a tool to enhance, not replace, human interaction.
Fourth, Outcome Orientation. Neogogy is relentlessly focused on the outcomes that matter most: the development of durable skills, the cultivation of deep understanding, and the formation of character. It moves beyond a narrow focus on content mastery to embrace a more holistic and transformative vision of educational success.
Fifth, Affordability. Neogogy is committed to making a high quality, human centered education accessible and affordable to all. It leverages the power of AI to reduce the cost of education and to create new and more equitable pathways to learning.
Sixth, Efficiency. Neogogy recognizes that time is a precious resource, and it seeks to create learning experiences that are both effective and efficient. It uses AI to automate lower order tasks and to personalize learning, freeing up time for the deep, relational, and transformative work that only humans can do.
Finally, Critical Partnership. Neogogy is built on a foundation of critical partnership, a new and more ethical relationship between human and machine intelligence. It treats AI not as a neutral tool but as a cognitive partner that must be engaged with discernment, intentionality, and a deep commitment to human values.
A Future of Hope
My vision for Neogogy is to see it implemented in schools, universities, and organizations around the world, to see it empower a new generation of learners to thrive in the age of AI. I am currently writing a book on Neogogy, and I am actively seeking partners and collaborators who share this vision. I believe that together, we can create a future where education is a practice of freedom for all.
I am deeply and profoundly thankful to everyone who walked with me on this journey. To my wonderful wife, Dianne, who paid the ultimate price of moving our family forward in spite of all my travels and research, and who always encouraged me to pursue my crazy dreams. To those who supported me, gave me space to fall apart, and offered the grace to keep getting back up. My advisors, mentors, academic community, and friends carried me in ways they may never fully realize. And to Dr. James Spencer, my advisor at Oxford and Kairos, a steady mentor, a north star, and above all, a trusted friend. I would not be here without your unwavering support.
If you are standing at the edge of something that matters, a dream, a calling, a hard path ahead, I want to offer this encouragement, not lightly, but from the depths of this experience: Pursue what you need to pursue. And don’t stop. The process is just as important, if not more so, than the product. And one day, quietly and without fanfare, you’ll realize you’ve done it. You finished.
In the age of AI, my hope is that education will become even more human, not less. That we will use these powerful tools to free ourselves from the drudgery of the banking model and to focus on the deep, relational work of learning together. And I hold onto the hope that one day, the principles of Neogogy, born from a journey of loss and love, will find their way back to the very place where my story began, and help the children of South Sudan, the Philippines, and any other developing nations that are very close to my heart build a future worthy of their dreams.
