School/Work/Life Balance

"Work/Life Balance" has been one of the hot topics that we have been discussing in class and outside of class since the beginning of our program. As many higher ed. professionals have shared with us, there is really no "8-5" job within the field. People are almost always "on board" to serve their students and the institution, dedicated to making a difference on a daily basis. One of the pieces of advice that I have received from Dr. Rudie Altamirano, Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Penn, is that anyone who is looking to step into this field needs to truly "love the job and love the field." 

So far, this program has definitely been giving me plenty of opportunities to get a taste of what it truly means by balancing school/work/life on a daily basis. During this coming week, I have the following MAJOR things to accomplish:

* Three papers due by the end of the week

* Three projects done by the end of the week

* Resumes / Cover letters done by Tuesday

* One 90-minute workshop on Wednesday

* Two jobs to apply for ASAP

* Prep. work with the team for the Ph.D. weekend

* Dance practices for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration

...

All of these need to be completed sometime in between my classes, assistantship, networking, time with my husband and parents (over the phone), and sleep! The two most effective tools for me to keep track of everything are my 8x11-inch planner and the Google Calendar. I have assigned a specific time slot for each task that I have to and would like to get done for the day, and so enjoyed the moments of crossing off a completed task as time goes by. I am definitely feeling more equipped to complete this semester strong after a VERY rigorous semester last year! Also, thankfully, I have my wonderful family, cohort, GA supervisor and staff in the office, as well as some close friends by my side who continue to show their strong support and sweet love.

The classes that I am taking this semester are: 

- Enrollment Management

- Globalization of Higher Education

- Administration of Student Life

- Diversity in Higher Education

- Professional Development

Compared to last semester when most classes are foundational, we have more options to choose from an even bigger range of classes of our own interests. I am very interested in Admissions and International Student Affairs, so I am absolutely loving all the classes that I have this semester! If there is anything specific that you would like to know about my classes, please let me know. I would be very happy to elaborate more. 

By the way, I have been very excited to "meet" those of you who have been accepted and joined our Facebook group! Best to those of you who have applied and are still waiting to hear back from the Admissions, and to the rest of you who have been reading our blogs! 

One last note - I did get to meet Dr. George Kuh at the Penn GSE Exec. Doc. Alumni Leadership Conference last week! He has such a genuine heart for students! No wonder why he is regarded as an "Icon" for Student Affairs in this country.

Until next time, take care! :)

Refreshed, Recharged and Ready to Roll!

Back to Campus! :)

Hello, everyone! Thank you all very much for following our blogs last semester! We are all back for another brand new semester, and I am extremely excited to see how things are unveiling for me as time goes by.

My winter break was very relaxing! My husband and I were in Philly most of the time except for spending five days in Maryland visiting our close friends. I was able to catch up with sleep and some movies, and am feeling all refreshed and ready to roll!

Photo taken by one of my cohort - Nadila

Having gone through a super academically rigorous semester last year, I am more confident about taking another five classes this semester while continuing with my awesome assistantship, starting job search, and taking advantage of all the amazing resources Penn has to offer. (I was just volunteering with two of my cohort members this afternoon at the Penn GSE Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management Leadership Conference where renown scholars and Higher Ed. Icons like Dr. George Kuh and Dr. Vasti Torres were present! Well, I got to meet Dr. Torres very briefly but have yet to meet Dr. Kuh! Hopefully, I will meet him tomorrow during the time when I am volunteering! Fingers crossed!! Two days ago at Penn, many of my cohort members went to see John Legend and listened to him speak at the 12th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture.)

Speaking of classes, I thought I had made up my mind on what to take this semester, but I just learned about another class that I am very interested in. There are just so many cool classes that we can take within Higher Ed. division or within GSE or even outside of GSE, so it can be difficult to pick only five to take. I will share what classes I am actually taking this semester once I make up my mind.

On another note, congratulations to those of you who have been accepted! Please feel free to join the 2013-2014 Accepted Students Facebook Group. We are also planning a lot of exciting events for you to help you learn more about what it is like to be a student here at GSE.

To those of you who are one button away from completing your application, or still working on your application, or considering to apply to GSE, all the best to you!! I still remember how I was very nervous and reluctant to click SUBMIT even though I had read through everything on my application form a million times, and how I was so relieved after letting things go out of my hand, knowing that at least I have done my part to the best of my ability.

Please feel free to leave a comment here or email us if you have any specific question. I will try to blog more this semester now that I have a much better sense of how to manage my time well in order to do a lot more before I graduate. :) Stay tuned~~~