Welcome to my blog!

Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog! I am excited to share my new journey at Penn GSE with you! Please feel free to leave a comment. I look forward to connecting with you!

Here's a bit more info. of myself in addition to the profile:

I was born in Xi'an, and grew up in Guangzhou, China. I completed my undergraduate program at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, with a major in Communication and a minor in Spanish.

Prior to coming to Penn, I was working as an International Student Advisor and Marketing Representative at Wisconsin ESL Institute where I found my passion for international education. I am most interested in two specializations of the Higher Ed. field: International Admissions and International Student Services.


Sunday, September 30, 2012

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.

        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 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...









Saturday, September 29, 2012

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. 










Sunday, September 23, 2012

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. :)

   



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Beginning of My New Journey - My Graduate Assistantship Training


        My long anticipated graduate program at Penn GSE finally started with my graduate assistantship (GA) training on Aug.31st, 2012. I was finally able to meet the Associate Director Emily and my work buddy Alexis after our multiple email exchanges over the summer. Both of them were super easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor, which eased my anxiety to jump into this new phase in life. I knew that I was off to a good start here because of this natural establishment of a great support system that GSE had put in place.

        Our primary goal for the training was to get familiar with our job responsibilities for the year. Alexis and I were each given a heavy GA legacy binder carefully prepared by the previous two GAs right off the bat. We were instructed to read through all the materials and ask questions, which is a very typical way of learning as a graduate student here at Penn. That was also our first taste of readings as part of our graduate program. If you are considering starting graduate school next year, I would highly recommend getting into a habit of active reading now if you haven't already done so.

        Just to give you a sneak peak of some of our responsibilities, here are some of the things we have been working on during the past two and a half weeks. They may also be of interest to you as you continue your search of a graduate program that best fits your background and interest. As a graduate assistant for the GSE Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, we have been working on:
 
*      Planning for the Virtual Information Session for All GSE Programs for this Thursday
        (If you are interested, please RSVP here.)
*      Coordinating on-going individualized campus visits for prospective students
        (If you would like to visit in person, please send in your request here.)
*      Organizing our October On Campus Information Session
        (We would love to have you join us at this event as well.)
*      Getting ready for our Web Chat for prospective students to connect with
        current students and GSE alumni
*      Maintaining a weekly student blog (which we just started!)

        I am really grateful for having this assistantship during my one-year master's program at GSE. Their focus on teaching of the fundamental knowledge of education and simultaneously preparing students professionally was a big draw to me when I was checking out different programs.

        At the end of my training that day, I felt the heavy weight placed on my shoulder for this year as a student and a graduate assistant, but I was ready to welcome any growing opportunities whether they appear in the form of exciting learning experiences or seemingly scary challenges. After all, this is part of a life experience, right?

        In my next few blogs, I will share some of my first impressions on Penn and GSE, my courses, and what I have learned so far about academic preparedness... Good night for now! :)

University of Pennsylvania - America's First University
(Photo taken by Adam Morrow, Higher Ed. Student @ Penn GSE)
Penn GSE - 3700 Walnut Street
(My Second Home in Philly, or Perhaps My First?)