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!