Higher Ed. Cohort Love, from us to YOU!

       Happy 12/12/12!!! My husband reminded me that it is the century's last sequential date, so I decided to post my blog before I miss such an important opportunity! I hope you all have done something special on this special date. Perhaps that means that you have completed your applications to grad schools? :)
       As for me, I am trying to push myself really hard this week, so that I can be done with all my final projects and start to catch up on my sleep!
       At the same time, I am still not sure how "all of a sudden," the Fall semester is coming to an end. Again, where did the time go? Being at the Orientation and trying to find my way around campus and the city seemed just like yesterday! I remembered being nervous about starting school again, feeling "excitedly anxious" about meeting all the new people, and somewhat uncertain about what this was all going to mean to me in this new stage of life.
       Even though these past four months have been the most intense time of my life, I am absolutely loving it! I am thankful that I have all of these awesome friends studying and working hard side by side with me day and night, all sharing the same level of passion for education with me and truly caring about the well-being of every single one of the members in the cohort! I am very blessed!
       Here are two photos of some of us at the two recent events together!

Higher Ed. Holiday Party
(Disclaimer: all of us are over 21. :) )

Study Break at President Amy Gutmann's House!!!

       Hopefully some (or many) of you have submitted your applications to graduate schools, or at least are working to complete them before the deadline at this point. Many of my cohort members are thinking of you as well, as we were just in your shoes last year, trying to determine which programs/schools to apply to and consider what to be mindful of in the application process. I have put together some students' profiles here, and hope that they will be helpful to you. Please feel free to contact us and all the best to you!

Name: Matthew A. Nelson (mnel@gse.upenn.edu) 

Graduate Assistantship: I work in the Communications office of GSE. My office has a three person staff responsible for the content creation and maintenance of the GSE website, most general publications about GSE faculty work. We are also responsible for the campaign (and accompanying materials) that drive the U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings, which take place annually.

Hometown: Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Undergrad. Education: B.A. Communication Theory and Marketing / Prairie View A&M University

Why Higher Ed. program? I came to the higher education program because I have always had a passion for working with students and business and it is very important to me that students receive the education they need. I am interested in preparedness of students (and student-athletes) when they leave the campus. I am also interested in access for students of low socioeconomic status. I hope to work in a career driving or academic advising role and help students find their passions and prepare themselves for opportunities beyond the campus gates. Also hope to provide access to students of low SES in some capacity, professionally or otherwise.

Advice for prospective students: It is important that you get what you're looking for out of the education you are seeking. The best way to do that is to understand what the school generally provides and offers. Different schools focus on different things. Do research beyond the websites of prospective schools to understand the schools' culture and focus. Speak to students currently in the program or alumni. This will help you find the school that is right for you.

Danielle & Payal 

Name: Danielle Staggers (staggers@gse.upenn.edu)

Graduate Assistantship: I am assisting the Program Manager with communicating vital information to the cohort and handle the administrative details of the Professional Development in Higher Education course. I also serve as the lead coordinator for the Annual Accepted Student Preview Weekend. 

Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina 

Undergrad. Education: Sociology, B.A./ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Why Higher Ed. program? I chose to complete a HED program because of my strong passion for college access and working with first generation college students. I spent the past two years serving as a College Adviser and I have seen the need for more student affairs personnel in programming for first generation students and underrepresented students. After graduation I hope to continue my work and research in college access with a position as a high school college counseling director or an Admissions administrator in a community college or four-year university. 

Advice for prospective students: I would advise prospective students to be honest about your interests and goals and look for common interests in the faculty at the school you choose to apply to or attend. Do not let your undergraduate GPA or GRE scores deter you from applying to a graduate school; focus on your personal statement and letters of recommendation. Best Wishes :-)

Name: Maurice Williams (mawill@gse.upenn.edu) 

Graduate Assistantship: Office of Student Life at the Community College of Philadelphia. I oversee the Student Programming Board that plans all student related activities on campus. Mentoring, supervising, counseling and developing are duties I preform on a daily basis at my Grad Assistantship.

Undergrad. Education: B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Elementary Education; Claflin University

Why Higher Ed. program: As an undergraduate, I was involved in several clubs and organizations and served in a number of leadership capacities including student government vice president and president. I was also a Call Me MISTER scholar (scholarship program for African American males entering the education field).I hope to gain further knowledge in higher education administration with specific interests in student affairs, historically black college and universities, and organizational leadership.

Advice: Show your diversity and versatility through your personal statement.  Do not be intimidated to mention your successes.  Express how you can be an asset to the program and what you hope to gain for your instructors and cohort members. 

Name: Sri Rao (srirao@gse.upenn.edu)

Graduate Assistantship: Rosemont College Office of Leadership and Engagement - Working at a small college, I am treated as a full time staff member and have the opportunity to have lots of hands on experience. I helped run all aspects of our orientation program as well as advising student run organizations and planning our fall leadership retreat.

Undergrad. Education: Lehigh University '11 Major: Behavioral Neuroscience. Minor: Health, Medicine and Society

Why Higher Ed. program: During undergrad I became heavily involved in many aspects of campus including being a class officer, an orientation leader, on house council, president of the american medical women's association, part of our senior class gift committee and working at our women's center. All of these experiences led me to realize that student affairs was the perfect career path for me. I hope to work directly with students in some capacity, specifically through first year student programming or student activities and leadership development.

Advice: Make sure that you are passionate about higher education/student affairs. Do not stress about applications, you will get in to the programs that are right for you. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

Name: Andrew Martinez (andmar@gse.upenn.edu)

Graduate Assistantship: Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) - Aid undergraduates in finding research opportunities and applying to fellowships in and outside of the University.

Hometown: New York City

Undergraduate Education: Cornell University; College of Arts and Sciences; 

B.A. Sociology; Minor: Inequality Studies & Latino Studies

Why Higher Ed. program? While I was at Cornell I became very involved with student organizations and saw the value in student development and leadership. I also developed a passion for social justice and found myself very interested in intercultural dialogue and conversations concerning diversity and access. With a Masters in Higher Education, I hope to pursue a career with student affairs in order to have a significant impact in the lives of the students I will eventually help to become great leaders. I also hope to pursue my education further to study access and retention rates in elite institutions for underrepresented groups. With that knowledge, I will be able to implement strategies to increase and retain more students of color within higher education.

Advice: Find out which faculty members' research aligns with your interests when you are writing your personal statement to further emphasize why you are a great fit for Penn GSE.  Try to visit Philadelphia if you can so you can see what the area is like. 

Love for Penn and the City!

        I can't believe that there are only 17 days left for the semester! Looking back at the days spent at Penn and in this city so far, I cannot express my gratitude enough for being part of this wonderful and rigorous program and of this incredibly amazing cohort! 

 

     I have always loved taking photos everywhere I go, but just realized that I hadn't posted that many photos since I started the program. So here are some of my most recent ones. Hope you will enjoy them. 

GSE - 3700 Walnut Street - My second home in Philly

Graduate Student Center, my third home in the city! :) This is where I get free tea and coffee! 

College Green - U Penn                         

Inside of the Penn Bookstore

GSE Student Lounge, where we often chill out and gather with our study groups

Inside of Houston Hall, the 1st Student Union in the nation :) 

There are many Victorian style houses like this one in Philly!   

Philly - City of Brotherly Love!  

Out and about in Center City on a cloudy day - still beautiful! :)

Another look at the Center City - Doesn't it look like a diamond in the sky? :)

I have yet to try the megabus! Hoping to hop on and visit NYC! 

The Grand Finale...

       The grand finale of my first semester of graduate school is here! Honestly, it is scary! Between now and December 19th, I have an exam, a group presentation, a video project, a 7-page paper & a 15-page paper for one class, a 5-page paper & a 15-page paper for another class, and another 15-page paper for one more class! Even though I have started to work on some of them, I am still not sure how I am going to survive during these next three weeks. 

       On the way back to Philly from a great visit of some close friends in Maryland this afternoon, I found myself complaining about the harsh reality and denying the fact that school is starting again tomorrow. I asked myself, "What happened? Being able to study at Penn was totally a dream that came true! Where did all these negative thoughts come from?"

       Well, I was just freaking out "a bit." I tend to push myself pretty hard, and sometimes, I might have added an unnecessary level of stress upon myself. Thanks to my friends from both within and outside of my cohort who have empathized with me and encouraged me! After I calmed down from having such an anxiety, I am now able to "breathe" again, and ready to take on whatever it takes to finish the semester to the best of my ability. After all, I am still living this wonderful dream that is worth all the efforts and sacrifices. No pains, no gains!

       Thinking about this time of last year, I remember being stressed about completing my grad. school applications while working full-time. Therefore, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions now that you are considering or working on applying to Penn GSE! I will write publish another post soon, but until then, best wishes to you in all that you do! Thank you for following my blog!

       

A (Dramatic) Glimpse into the First Three Months as a GSE Master's Student at Penn - Aman Goyal (Guest Blogger)

Hello dear readers! I am excited to introduce my friend Aman Goyal to you this week! Like what I have promised earlier, I will continue to invite my friends in the cohort to be guest bloggers so that you will learn more about our Penn Journey from various perspectives. Please enjoy!

Brief Bio of Aman Goyal:

Aman is from Toledo, Ohio. He did his undergrad at Miami University of Ohio, so leaving Ohio was definitely nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. He is in the Higher Education Administration cohort and is a graduate assistant in the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives. So far he has loved Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania but wishes he had more time to take it all in and go to all the events they have for students on campus and out in the city. Feel free to reach out to him via email at: goaman@gse.upenn.edu.

A (Dramatic) Glimpse Into the First Three Months as a GSE Master's Student at Penn

From August to September:

This first month was really just a blur of a lot of changes. Getting used to your dorm room at Sansom Place West which was convenient and small, and exactly what you expect for a dorm on campus for grad students when you aren't willing to spend a lot on living. Then, since you're a social being, you had to make a few friends and hopefully that will be easy with your cohort, as it was with mine. But you will need a few people outside of your cohort that do not know anything about your classes so that you can talk about something besides Critical Race Theory and Human Capital Theory. These would be the people you study with on occasion, go to when you want a break and to talk about life outside of school, to go out to a quick, last minute dinner with.

And of course there was the whole "getting used to your GA and classes." Twenty hours does not sound like a lot, but when you add in five classes it ends up being an adjustment to say the least. Managing your time, day to day schedule, and priorities seems pretty easy this first month because classes you are on top of all your class readings and assignments and you GA is picking up slowly because students are back on campus.

From September to October:

This next month proves to you that whatever system you had going the first month will have to change because now you have papers that are grad level, something you may not be used to (I certainly wasn't). You now have friends and a lot of familiar faces all of whom present opportunities go out and have an adventure, whether it be downtown in one of the neighborhoods of Center City, the arboretum, or the local Penn area where there is plenty to do if you find all the right weekly calendars. And then you start missing home during this month, you realize it has been a while since you've talked to family and friends, and so you try to make time for those conversations. Fall television is back so you try to make sure to dedicate some time to watch these because it is therapeutic after all. Your schedule and routine are being thrown off because everything is changing inside and out, just like the seasons.

But again, you figure it out. You talk to your cohort and they are feeling the same way which is a relief because you can sometimes feel alone in a new place, especially when you spend a lot of your time with books and your computer typing and researching for papers. You get your first grades and you start to see progress in your writing and analyzing skills, you impress yourself and you let yourself down, but you are learning, and after all, that's why you're here, isn't it?

From October to November:

You start realizing you are more than halfway done with your first semester, there are a lot of deadlines approaching, and you have projects at your GA that are exciting escapes from your school work. Instead of reading your coursebook you decide to spend a little extra time organizing your life. You start to look at job opportunities because you are already 1/4th done with the program and if you don't do it now, you'll be behind everyone else! You have your social life figured out somewhat, and you are still trying to balance talking to friends and family who are far away. Your life is a balancing act between your GA, classes, fall TV shows, career exploration, your Philadelphia social life versus your other social life away from Penn, and, oh yeah, sleeping and eating occasionally.

It feels like you might forget something and miss out on opportunities, and you will, and you'll have to start choosing what is more important every single day. The beauty of this part of the semester is that you are starting to realize your passions, what you actually want to do with the rest of your life, or at least next year! By this point you have history at Penn and memories, whether they be Hurricanes or Presidential Elections, you will never forget this place, this place that is beginning to feel like home.

(This may sound over-whelming, but I promise it's not as bad as it sounds! Some days you will feel like you are in over your head with work, but other days you will feel accomplished and like the scholar that you are becoming! No one said it would be easy, so why expect it to be? Accept the challenge and take it on full force, it's only a year after all! You can do it!

Thank you to Xixi for letting me express myself on her blog. Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like me to expand on anything, of if you have any other general questions!)

Where did my time go?

       Happy Election Day! I am sure most people are eager to find out who the next president will be in just a few hours!    

       Well, besides this big revelation, the arrival of November also means the approaching due dates for big papers, presentations and group projects for us graduate students at GSE. I have been meeting with different groups for different collaborative projects almost every day these two weeks. Just when I am all settled in this routined life, feeling right in the middle of the program, I was reminded that there are only two classes left for my Ethics and Leadership in Higher Education course, which meets every other Friday for four hours.

       So far, it has been an absolutely wonderful experience being in this Ethics class. Dr. Mary-Linda Armacost is definitely one of my favorite professors. Her educational and personal life experiences are amazing. Feel free to google her if you wish. She is President Emerita of Moore College of Arts and Design and is one of the sweetest professors I've ever had. I so appreciate getting a big hug and a caring kiss on the forehead from her before classes, so the thought of having only two classes left with her just makes me sad.

       I can't believe how time flies! Most of us have completed our advance registration for next semester this week. Some of my cohort members have met with our Career Services Director, and I have also received kind advice from staff that it is never too early to start looking for job opportunities. Many people have told me that the one-year program will go by very fast, but I still cannot fathom how fast time actually flies. My biggest goal is to make sure that I "breathe" properly for the rest of the semester, and try to intentionally slow down from time to time so that I can truly cherish every moment of the present time.

      If you'd like to learn more about what it is like to be a graduate student here at GSE, please consider joining one of our upcoming web chats with current students and alumni. I will continue to share my experiences here and invite some guest bloggers. Thank you very much for following my blog! I appreciate your time!

     

A "Day In The Life" Snapshot - Katie Damon (Guest Blogger)

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog and sharing this journey with me! I hope to provide you with a variety of experiences and perspectives, so I am very appreciative of my friend Katie's willingness to write a blog this week. Please enjoy!

Brief bio of Katie Damon:

Katie graduated from Penn State in 2010 with degrees in Management and Psychology. She worked at Bucknell University for two years in Alumni Career Services, and her graduate assistantship is in Career Services on the Wharton Team. Katie is the founder and co-president of the Higher Education Student Association at Penn (HESA Penn). She can be reached at damonk@gse.upenn.edu.

Greetings future (and current) higher education professionals! When I was considering grad schools, I found Penn's GSE admissions blogs to be extremely helpful in understanding what life in grad school and at Penn is really like, so I was really excited when Xixi asked me to guest post. I feel like its hard to know what school here is like until you really live it, but here is a "day in the life" snapshot of my day to give you an idea...

October 25, 2012

8 am - I had to get up a bit early today to help with the International Opportunities Fair that is sponsored by Career Services. My GA position is on the Wharton Team. While my role mostly involves counseling and creating programs for undergraduate business students, everyone in the office tries to help out with career fairs. 

9:30 am - Back at home, its time to research topics for my Faculty and Academic Governance paper. Its a 20 page final paper, and we have an outline due next Thursday. Because of my Managerial Decision Making test on Monday and Halloween festivities coming this weekend and on Wednesday, I decided to get a head start.

12 pm - Frozen pizza. Delicious.

1 pm - Time to head in to work - usually on Thursdays I work 9 am - 4 pm, but this week is a bit flexible. I'm spending all day tomorrow taking Wharton sophomores to NYC for a career exploration trip. Tomorrow we're visiting Nielsen and Macy's (two weeks ago we visited Google and MTV!). Because we have to be on the bus by 7 am and we'll get home around 6 pm, I took some time off today to study.

I had two appointments this afternoon, one student needed help with a resume, and another was preparing for a phone interview with a Norwegian company. During work, I received an email from a former cohort member who works another university in the area - she was following up with my request to chat about classes and job searching this spring. Gotta remember to network!

4 pm - Today I had Faculty and Academic Governance, so I headed over straight from work. Before class I chatted with my HESA co-president Aman and our Communications Committee chair Meng-Chuan about our logo and t-shirt design. Some of us also talked/stressed about our Contemporary Issues video group projects. We also discussed plans for the Halloween weekend (a Harry Potter themed excursion in Chestnut Hill). I find its important to get to class early and spend some time with the cohort - sometimes you only see people once a week, so the 15 minutes before class is a good time to catch up.

In class we got our policy memos back, and talked about academic freedom and faculty unions. After class I talked with Professor Garland about the paper topic I spent the morning working on!

6:30 pm - Right after class, a bunch of us headed over to happy hour. This week the HESA Social Committee planned a joint social with the Intercultural Communications (ICC) cohort at Drinker's West. Met some new people, as well as someone from last year's cohort.

8 pm - Came home and chatted with my roommate - she wanted help brainstorming good restaurants in the city to go to with her family this weekend. I suggested Tap House for nearby, or any Steven Starr restaurant. Philly is a great foodie city!

8:30 pm - Time to study for my management exam on Monday. Typically I have Fridays off, but since my day is filled with NYC adventures with undergrads and the weekend is booked with Halloween activities, I have to start studying now! Its very important to make time for the things you enjoy, as long as the work gets done first :) I'll be off to bed by 10:30 - I have a 5:45 am wake-up before we load up the bus!

I'd love to hear from anyone who has questions about Penn, the process of applying to grad schools, working in career services, or life in general! Feel free to email me (really! please do!) at damonk@gse.upenn.edu.

Searching for A Good Balance

       In one of my earliest blogs, I shared my happiness of being able to find my rhythm here at GSE. I have been able to complete my assignments one or two days before the due date and really love the feeling of being prepared for classes. This rhythm (or more specifically, my academic rhythm) helps me to remain productive during the past few weeks. However, academics is only one part, although a major one, of my graduate program at Penn. The other big part is my graduate assistantship at the GSE Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.

       We just successfully hosted our Fall On-Campus Information Session this Saturday. My GA team put in amazing efforts to prepare for this event. Close to twenty admissions ambassadors were also here to help the event go smoothly. Thanks to those of you who were able to come! And to those of you who were not able to join us, no worries. We've got many other events in the near future. 

       I was very relieved that everything went well at the event. During the past two weeks. I was awake and actively studying or working for over 17 hours daily. I stayed up way past mid-night almost every day in order to read for my classes, complete writing assignments, prepare for group presentations and work on our event tasks.  With so little time and so much to complete, I have been very reluctant to stop to take a short break, even just to chill with my husband. Consequently, I start to struggle with balancing the multiple roles I have in life: graduate student / wife / daughter / graduate assistant / family member / friend / colleague, etc.  Meanwhile, I am also feeling that my body will be burnt out soon if I don't learn to have a good balance between study/work and rest. After all, it has only been one and a half month into the semester! The obvious complaint I got from my body was this Saturday. On the way home from our event, I started to have a major headache and was feeling very weak. Knowing that I wouldn't have much time to connect with my husband once weekend is over, I spent some time chatting with him, taking care of some chores with him, and watching a movie together. I passed out right after the movie and slept like a rock until the very next afternoon! I didn't get much done as I had hoped, but I wasn't feeling guilty this time. I knew that was a much needed rest. 

       This coming week is another one that will require me to probably put in extra time in studying and working before Thursday. I will be flying back to Madison, WI early Thursday morning to present with my former supervisor at the NAFSA Region V Conference the next day. I've been very excited about this opportunity and looking forward to seeing my former colleagues and students there.

       I don't think I will be able to find a good balance soon, but it's definitely on my radar. This is not just an important thing to learn during this one year, but also important after I step into the professional working environment again because I will still have as many roles then, if not more. That being said, I am thankful that this graduate school experience is preparing me in all different ways to grow and explore in life. 

Saturday - GSE On-Campus Information Session!

I am so glad that I don't have major papers or exams due this week! My team is busy getting ready to put on our Fall on-campus information session this Saturday. We will have faculty, staff, current students and alumni join us welcoming all the prospective students interested in GSE. 

If you have registered to come, great! I can't wait to meet you there! 

If you are interested and available to come, please RSVP here. There's still time!

More information can be found on our website.

On-Campus Events

Saturday, October 20, 2012Information Session for All Programs
10 am - 1 pm
Houston Hall
3417 Spruce Street; Philadelphia, PA 19104

If you have any question, please feel free to leave a comment here. :)

Valuable Resources at GSE and Penn

       Time is zooming by every day! Between classes, work, projects, and everything else, I wish I didn't have to sleep in order to get everything done and also take advantage of all the wonderful resources Penn has for us! I'm very thankful to our faculty for the valuable advice they gave us in the very beginning of our graduate program: to learn to be intentional and also selective during our one-year program. 

       Every week, GSE and Penn in general have multiple speakers events and other activities. I wish I could attend all of them, but it is definitely impossible to make it to most of them with my tight schedule. Like what our faculty shared, it is important for us to learn to step out of our bubble to seek out opportunities for growth, and equally important for us to learn to be selective of all the opportunities presented to us so that we are not loosing the focus and missing on the most important things toward our own personal, academic and professional development. 

       One event that I was able to attend, and was also part of the requirement for our Professional Development class turned out to be very important toward my career development. We had the privilege of listening to five Penn student affairs professionals honestly sharing how they've come to their current position. Some of them stepped into this field "accidentally" while others were aiming for this field from the very beginning. Despite their different paths, all have been driven by their genuine cares for college students and their passion for making an impact in students' life. One of the greatest perks about being a Penn student is that all of these valuable resources are available to us. We can easily make an appointment with any of these professionals and have a personal connection with them. Every day when I step into the GSE building, I think about how fortunate I am to be able to interact face-to-face with or just run into a world-renowned higher ed. professional and to be recognized by them as well! Despite my daily heavy course load, I'm impressed by GSE more each day!

      

Philly - A Global City!

One piece of important advice I received from my director Alyssa is to do something fun for myself every day. Having ignored the importance of having some fun on a daily basis, it was difficult for me to keep my sanity during the first two weeks of my wonderful yet intense graduate school. However, I've been doing very well staying sane after learning to balance study, work, and relaxation.

A Different Look at the World!
Map from the Reception at Penn Museum

Yesterday, one of my cohort members Eun Mi and I attended the 43rd International Students and Scholars Reception at the Penn Museum.

Five minutes into the reception, the world map was full of pins indicating the places people came from. (See photo on the right.) Altogether hundreds of internationals gathered at the museum to enjoy music, dances, and food.

According to the Penn Museum Press, every year, the annual welcome reception, considered a national model amongst international educators, hosts hundreds of international guests from over 100 countries to connect international guests with the local community and its leaders, and to introduce attendees to the multicultural community of Philadelphia.

Cultural Performance
(Photo retrieved from Penn Museum Website)

Eun Mi and I watched Chinese folk dances,
African percussion performances and various types of latin dances. We also enjoyed the free food and delicious pineapple drink at the event.

I am very thankful that I could enjoy a taste of the world on weekdays right at GSE and Penn, and on weekends in this city.

Eun Mi and I

Free Food & Drink

Penn Museum
(Photo retrieved from plannphilly.com)

A Safe Place to Fall - Adam Morrow (Guest Blogger)

I am constantly amazed by the wonderful GSE cohort! All of them have brought in their diverse experiences and all are very supportive of one another. Adam Morrow, one of my cohort has graciously volunteered to blog about his experiences at Penn. Hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to leave any comments.

Brief bio. of Adam Morrow:
Adam Morrow is from Etowah, Tennessee and is currently enrolled full-time in the Higher Education Administration M.S.Ed. program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate assistant in Development and Alumni Relations for School and Center Annual Giving. He can be reached at amorrow@gse.upenn.edu.

A Safe Place to Fall

        Confession: I cannot fully remember one of the most memorable days of my life. I am aware of where I was, what I was doing, and what ultimately happened during this particular experience. However, there is a time frame of about five seconds that I do NOT remember. This moment-- this five seconds of which I still wonder today, “What in the world was I thinking?!--is important because it was the impetus for what was one of the most daring, crazy, and fulfilling adventures in my life. It was in that five seconds that I could have made the executive decision to quit what I was doing, end this madness, and return to the comforts of normal life. But I didn’t stop. I jumped.

        My first four weeks in the M.S.Ed. program in Higher Education Administration here at Penn, remind me of my first time tandem skydiving. Coming to Penn was a risk for me. I knew that living in a big city for the first time and enrolling in a highly-rigorous program after a year out of school would present a challenge, that without careful effort and attention to detail, I could fail. However, after making that leap, I have quickly discovered what an amazing experience this is. Here at Penn I encounter professionals at my graduate assistantship that are at the top of their games, learn from professors who are leading voices in their respective fields, and commune with my cohorts who are the some of the most brilliant people I have ever met. I love this, and the best part of it is that this ride isn’t even close to being over. I’m still in the air, free falling like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

        Of course, like skydiving, there are moments that are more tense and stressful than others, and the potential for complete disaster is a legitimate reality. The demands of the coursework is so overwhelming at times that it pushes me to my breaking point at which I feel like giving up. In a lot of ways, the rigor of this program becomes the classic case of paralysis by analysis; the more you look at what all needs to be done, the more daunting of a task it seems to be. When I feel myself coming close to hitting a mental wall, I have learned that it is best in those moments to put my head down, keep working, and run straight through the wall without hesitation and without stopping. Many times, what keeps me motivated is simply knowing that I’m not alone in this journey. The people in my cohort, who I am thankful to call my friends, are full of intellect and talent and are also some of the most caring and compassionate people I’ve ever met. They inspire me each day to give my best effort because I know that they are giving their best efforts as well.

        In the next five, ten, and twenty years, when you survey the landscape of higher education, look for these people. Look at the research they will be doing. Look at the places they will be going. Look at the lives they will be touching. Not everyone in this cohort will make the front page of the Chronicle of Higher Education or have articles published in their names, but whatever they are doing in their careers, I promise you something: they will be making a difference in the lives of students.

        I think of my professors as the skydiving instructor, who with years of expertise and training, are directing me in the ways in which I need to go. The honest insights and critical analysis of the academic enterprise that these men and women provide in each class makes me feel prepared to immediately step into higher education world after I graduate. The people in my cohort...they are the parachute keeping me from crashing to the ground. They save me from academic disaster when I completely misunderstand things in class, mental disaster when the stress of life starts wearing me down, and social disaster by encouraging me to go out and have fun when I become a bit too obsessive with school. As for me, I am going to keep jumping. I am going to keep challenging and pushing myself. I want to maximize each and every opportunity I have at this place to the fullest. Grad school is hard, but it’s so much fun. And I love it.

Tomorrow - Web Chat with Current Students & Alumni

Hi everyone! Alexis and I are getting everything ready for the web chat tomorrow, so just wanted to remind you to join us if you are interested in connecting with current GSE students and alumni to get an honest perspective on our life within and outside of GSE!

Here's the information: 

Title:       Prospective Student Web Chat with Current Students & Alumni When:   10/3/2012 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Where:  Online

Hope to talk to you tomorrow!

Now back to study! Good night, everyone!

Experience the Unexpected (III)

Penn's level of thoughtfulness for students totally exceeds my expectation! Two of the awesome services that I have been enjoying as a student here are the free Penn Shuttle service and Walking Escort service. Since I just got home from the library at 12:30a.m. by using the walking escort service, I have to quickly blog about how grateful I am to those staff for their hard work and to the university for the cares here.

The Walking Escort Service - 

        This service is free to all Penn students and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! I am fortunate to live within the range of this service, so I've totally got to enjoy it. Students can call ahead of time to have a walking escort meet them, but we can also just go up to any one and request for the escort service. 

        After finishing studying at the Van Pelt Library tonight, I went up to a walking escort to request the service, and was accompanied for two blocks. Then two other walking escorts took over and walked me right to my door. Of the three escorts tonight, two had actually lived in Madison, WI! What are the chances! 

Photo taken from Penn's Website
http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/security-services/walking-escort/

Penn Shuttle Service - 

        Penn Shuttles provide "to door" transportation to students. There are three routes available: East, West and Xtra. I live on the X shuttle route, which requires me to call ahead to request the service in order to be dropped off right in front of my door. It is like a free taxi service with guaranteed safety. Since the service runs every day of the week between 6:00p.m. and 3:00a.m., I have been enjoying it a lot. 

        Thanks to all the staff who are working late nights to keep us students safe! I feel very blessed.

The Penn Shuttle that took me home one night...

Experienced the Unexpected (II)

Phew! So glad that I made it through the week juggling between study and work! The arrival of the weekend never meant the whole world to me until now! I actually got nine hours of sleep last night, compared to an average of five hours during the past week, and I am feeling really great today. Here is a sneak peek of my first three weeks of wonderful yet unexpectedly intense coursework, which is also the topic of this blog.

My Courses - 

        To complete the M.S.Ed. Degree in Higher Education Administration program at GSE, students are required to take 10 total courses, complete a 20-hour assistantship per week, and pass the Comprehensive Examination in the Spring semester. Most of my cohort are full-time students, so we are taking five courses with our 20-hour assistantship this semester. My five courses are:

Some of the books and articles I'm reading for this semester

•  Professional Development in Higher Ed. (required if having fewer than five years of     professional work experience)
•  Contemporary Issues in Higher Ed. (division course)
•  Faculty & Academic Governance (division course)
•  Ethics & Leadership in Higher Ed. (division course)
•  Qualitative Modes of Inquiry (distribution course)

During this past week, we were expected to complete all of the following for each course: 

• Professional Development: 20+ pages of reading + reflective post of Dr. Rich Milner's talk on "Centralizing Race in Teacher Education For Reform."
• Contemporary Issues: 100+ pages of reading 
• Governance: 130+ pages of reading + 7-page of Policy Memo
• Ethics: 150+ pages of reading + two 2-page papers + 1-page Annotated Bibliography
• QMI: 120+ pages of reading + 3-page of Researcher Identity Memo

      ... and that was why I didn't get much sleep at all! I am loving every one of the courses and am so honored to be a student of all these world-renowned and yet very approachable professors. ( I will share my stories in my future blogs.) However, just having the love and passion for my courses is not enough. What's more important is to transform my motivation and enthusiasm into my actual hard work for the courses, and this takes wisdom in effective time management, which I have finally been able to do. Noticed how I wrote "we were expected to complete" instead of "what I completed" earlier? Well, I was definitely guilty of not being able to complete all the readings for some courses. I wish I could, and I really did enjoy all the readings that I completed. However, not having the effective time management for graduate school really got me to struggle in completing all the readings that were expected, which was out of my desire to do as well. It wasn't because I didn't plan, but because I planned in a way that worked well for me when I was an undergraduate student without realizing that mastering the graduate program was a completely different thing. 

        What I have learned and done by this point is to have a study plan instead of just a detailed plan outlining all the due dates. I have started to read a bit for each course every day to break down the big tasks and make sure to complete all the required readings at least two days before the actual class. What I have learned from the workshop on "Academic Reading and Critical Thinking" at Penn's Weingarten Learning Resource Center is to take good notes of the readings and review them the day before class in order to refresh my memory and get ready for class discussion. This might sound easy, but it is NOT. Getting the readings done is just part of the academic preparation. Many times, we need to incorporate the readings into our papers or other projects, which takes a LOT of time as well. I have set a new deadline for each project for myself, all due at least one day before the actual one assigned by my professors, to leave enough time for me to review and revise. I am big into planning and I love getting things done earlier than expected. So the first few weeks when I failed to do it all the time, I was very frustrated with myself. The more frustrated and stressed I felt, the less effective I was in completing everything. So now, I am determined to follow this new study plan and welcoming another start. Things have been going well so far as I follow my new guideline, and I am feeling much more relaxed and confident. 

        One important lesson I learn is to find our own rhythm, especially when we are in a new chapter of life. 

Experiencing the Unexpected (I)

The first three weeks of my graduate program at Penn are full of wonderful and stressful surprises. I am mixing them in the next few blogs to help you visualize some of those moments for me and feel the ups and downs I've experienced...

My Cohort - 

       This is one of the most diverse, collaborative, caring, genuine, and passionate groups of people I have ever been part of. We represent different ethnic and cultural groups, come from various stages of life (some straight from undergraduate programs, some with a few years of work experience, and others still working full-time while studying part-time at GSE), bring in unique academic and professional experiences, and share the SAME passion for education. Pretty awesome, isn't it? 

In Front Of the Constitution Hall
with Some Cohort Members the Day Before Orientation

        However, just before my husband and I started our journey here, I was having mixed feelings: I felt very thankful that my husband would come with me at the sacrifice of giving up his job in Wisconsin; I  was very excited to be able to soon dive into the new learning environment at Penn, a place that I had been longing for for a long time; yet I was also very sad about leaving my job, my colleague and students, all the other friends that we had grown very close to, and the place that we were very familiar with. All of these feelings reminded me of my first time coming over to the U.S. as an international student to pursue a bachelor's degree: I was nervous about making new friends in a brand new place, wasn't sure how long it would take me to get comfortable in the new environment, and had doubt about the stability of relationships that were built in this fast-paced society. Even though it wasn't a cross-continent journey this time, it was still a cross-country experience, and to me, a feeling of my second time "studying abroad."

       Well, both my husband and I were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to bond with everyone in my cohort after all. I didn't think that we even tried hard to, and yet had already been well connected with them before school started. The day before our Orientation, a Facebook invitation was sent out to everyone in our program about our start-off gathering. My husband was also invited, which I was very grateful for. Our smart phones (actually my husband's and colleagues') got us connected at the Reading Terminal Market where we met some members for the first time and enjoyed a wonderful meal with one another. Following dinner, we all went for a two-hour self-guided tour around Center City where we continued to bond and get to know each other. That night ended with another two-hour game-playing activities at Katie's apartment, leaving everyone assured that this was going to be a fantastic year with one another.

        The first three weeks are now over. Our friendship continues to grow. We haven't spent much time playing games at all, but have definitely been meeting each other for study groups or casual chats to encourage and de-stress one another. This is a group of people who not only care about one another within the cohort, but also reach out to others like my husband, which to me meant so much more!

        Every one at GSE has been emphasizing the importance of collaborative learning with one another. On Orientation day, Dean Andy Porter encouraged all of us to look beyond the end of our nose, and to make an intentional effort to learn from faculty and our cohort members. Our Assistant Dean Lois MacNamara reminded us to be considerate, open-minded, and respectful toward one another. Some alumni at the Student Panel also shared their experiences of building a culturally inclusive community during their study at GSE, and inspired us to go out of our way to leave a legacy.With the school's deep commitment to creating a mutual learning environment and my cohort's genuine support for one another, I have no doubt that it is going to be an amazing year, despite the bumps I will hit (wait, actually have hit). *More on my bumps in the next blog...

This scene by the South Street reminds me of part of Confucius' Analects:

"When I walk along with two others, I regard them as my teachers." (三人行必有我师）

To me, I am very blessed to have all of these wonderful cohort members as my teachers. :)