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!