I can’t believe it’s been almost one month since my last post. I woke up one day this week and realized that my first year of graduate school is over and that I have a lot of work both ahead of me and behind of me. It’s interesting to think of how much I have changed in the last year as I gained knowledge from my experiences in class and in my assistantship. My classes have offered me the opportunity to interact with so many different people that have had wonderful experiences from which to draw connections that help to explain the theories that we study. In my assistantship, I have had the opportunity to see those theories in action and make my own connections that help me to better understand material.
Obviously my experience this year has been so much more than just gaining the ability to connect theory to practice and other knowledge gained. My fellow cohort members have truly exceeded my expectations and provided me with a support system as I progressed through the year working on assignments, supervising students, and encountering other new challenges that life has thrown at me. In this group of people I have encountered a lot of individuals who are always willing to help and concerned about each others’ success. I’m so thankful that my peers have fostered this sense of unity. With that being said, we’ve all had our ups and downs, disagreements, and all out fights with one another but we’ve truly grown from those experiences and in the end, I think they have helped us to become better at communicating our differences in a positive, productive manner.
In my assistantship, I have been provided a truly unique experience. I recently have been reflecting a lot about this and I think that my experience is truly going to help me to grow and learn more than if I would have chosen a different route. I’ve had the opportunity to propose ideas and new programs, participate in office decisions, and work through difficult situations with which I have been presented. It’s truly been a very enlightening experience and I look forward to another year with new challenges.
For me, it’s weird to think that half of my grad school experience is over. This occurred to me as I was announcing the names of the second years for the hooding ceremony last week. After they graduated, I became a second year and started thinking of what antics the new first year cohort would bring in the coming year. It’s an odd really an odd feeling. Since I’ve been at Indiana State I’ve had the benefit of interacting with people in the program and getting advice and guidance from those older than myself. When I entered the program, I became that person for some. It comes with both a sense of responsibility and with honor. I’m proud to say that I’m at ISU in the SAHE program and look forward to another year of antics with my cohort as we begin the job search, finish theses, and grow both professionally and personally. I look for the opportunity to give back to those students like myself like so many of the SAHE grads that came before me and hope that I’ll provide them as much wisdom as they have provided me.
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