Hey everyone!
Just to MIX things up, I will be occasionally hosting a guest writer on my blog. The writers will be students in my higher education cohort talking about their particular graduate assistantships, their experiences here at Penn, and just about anything else they want! Look out for those in the near future!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
upcoming event for Penn GSE!
I haven't advertised the GSE events in a while! It's been so busy that I sort of focused on my personal and academic life for the past posts. BUT since I have some time now...let's talk about all of our upcoming events for the next few weeks!
Web Chats!
Remember those? We are hosting them again soon! The first one coming up is on March 5th, 2014 from 9AM - 10AM. This semester's web chats will all have a focus to them. This first web chat's focus is international students! We are in the process of gathering student organizations and other resources to speak as well as current students and alumni.
RSVP HERE!
Here are the other web chats' focus and dates!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
8:30PM - 9:30PM (ET)
This web chat will be geared towards students with families or those who are changing careers into higher education. We will have a variety of current students, alumni, and campus resources to talk about their adjustments involved when coming to GSE.
RSVP HERE!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
8:00PM - 9:00PM (ET)
This web chat will be geared towards students identifying with the LGBT community and students of color. We will have current students and alumni from these communities as well as various resources available to discuss the campus climate at Penn and answer any of your questions.
RSVP HERE!
Friday, April 11, 2014
7:00PM - 8:00PM (ET)
This will be our final web chat of the semester. It will not be themed, but we will have a variety of individuals present to answer any of your remaining questions to help you prepare for life at Penn GSE.
RSVP HERE!
Web Chats!
Remember those? We are hosting them again soon! The first one coming up is on March 5th, 2014 from 9AM - 10AM. This semester's web chats will all have a focus to them. This first web chat's focus is international students! We are in the process of gathering student organizations and other resources to speak as well as current students and alumni.
RSVP HERE!
Here are the other web chats' focus and dates!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
8:30PM - 9:30PM (ET)
This web chat will be geared towards students with families or those who are changing careers into higher education. We will have a variety of current students, alumni, and campus resources to talk about their adjustments involved when coming to GSE.
RSVP HERE!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
8:00PM - 9:00PM (ET)
This web chat will be geared towards students identifying with the LGBT community and students of color. We will have current students and alumni from these communities as well as various resources available to discuss the campus climate at Penn and answer any of your questions.
RSVP HERE!
Friday, April 11, 2014
7:00PM - 8:00PM (ET)
This will be our final web chat of the semester. It will not be themed, but we will have a variety of individuals present to answer any of your remaining questions to help you prepare for life at Penn GSE.
RSVP HERE!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Comprehensive Exam
IT IS OVER! I have turned in my comprehensive exam for the Master's program yesterday and I felt something just being lifted from my shoulders. So to explain the comprehensive exam (or what we like to call it, Comps) without divulging too many secrets, here is how the exam works.
For the Higher Education Master's program, we all have to take Comps sometime in February. We do not have to write a thesis or build a portfolio, instead we get this exam. The exam is essentially a take home paper. We would get the topics Friday and turn in the paper no later than Monday afternoon. Some may argue about the benefits and usefulness of this exam, but I see it as a pressure test and a rite of passage.
Everyone has a process to prepare for big papers or exams like this. I will share with you all a little bit about my process. Having gone through a full semester of classes and a month or so into the Spring semester, I felt prepared to answer the questions in a thoughtful manner. Comps preparation is definitely different for everyone, but I found myself taking some time to go for a short walk every time I needed a break. I took my time and went on multiple walks and exercised every morning to get my mind off of the prompt. I felt that by distancing myself from the exam every now and then was good so I didn't get sick and tired of the same question for the entire weekend.
All I can say is...TRUST YOUR PROCESS. I made sure I wasn't too psyched out about the test and went through my usual process. Now all I can do is wait for the results and hope that I pass!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
EdD weekend
Hi everyone! This week has been hectic (like the past bazillion weeks as well). We just finished hosting the EdD weekend and are now focused on Master's applications and preview events. The applicants who came to the EdD weekend were fewer compared to the PhD weekend but other than that most of the format of the weekend was the same. Since we had done the exact same event two weeks prior, we felt less stressed planning the event and preparing for it.
Friday night at Davio's was great like always and the Saturday morning prep went smoothly. It was nice seeing the different current students who are pursuing various interests of their own. During Saturday morning we have a poster session and it was a great way for us to see what the current students are working on this year. The afternoon events and dinner also went smoothly and we had a lot of good feedback about the preparation we made for the students. I did not attend the Sunday morning events and decided to sleep in a little bit and get started on other papers I have for class.
Overall I had a great time. It was also one of the few times that all of the Admissions Graduate Assistants were able to meet together for dinner (dressed up as well). We took several pictures of our group (to be posted very soon!).
The flip side of these wonderful doctoral weekends is catching up on school work and your personal life. I am now in turbo mode trying to get everything done and prep for the Higher Education Comprehensive exam this week. Hopefully after this crazy whirlwind of a week is over, I will have time to catch my breath and rest. ALSO an interesting note, our spring break is in less than 3 weeks! I totally forgot about our early spring break this year. I guess private universities have the luxury to tailor the spring break to fit its specifics academic schedule. So I have that to look forward to soon!
Friday night at Davio's was great like always and the Saturday morning prep went smoothly. It was nice seeing the different current students who are pursuing various interests of their own. During Saturday morning we have a poster session and it was a great way for us to see what the current students are working on this year. The afternoon events and dinner also went smoothly and we had a lot of good feedback about the preparation we made for the students. I did not attend the Sunday morning events and decided to sleep in a little bit and get started on other papers I have for class.
Overall I had a great time. It was also one of the few times that all of the Admissions Graduate Assistants were able to meet together for dinner (dressed up as well). We took several pictures of our group (to be posted very soon!).
The flip side of these wonderful doctoral weekends is catching up on school work and your personal life. I am now in turbo mode trying to get everything done and prep for the Higher Education Comprehensive exam this week. Hopefully after this crazy whirlwind of a week is over, I will have time to catch my breath and rest. ALSO an interesting note, our spring break is in less than 3 weeks! I totally forgot about our early spring break this year. I guess private universities have the luxury to tailor the spring break to fit its specifics academic schedule. So I have that to look forward to soon!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Things to look forward to this semester
Some of my friends have asked me about my "personal timeline" of life. I have been doing a lot of reflection and I do in fact have a timeline for several big events in my life over the next few months! Here is what I have in mind!
But before we get into the deep stuff, I will post a couple pictures of some food that I recently made!
Looking ahead - few weeks
The comprehensive exam for Higher Education is coming up and I am starting to prepare for it (slowly but surely). The next few weeks will be dealing with Comps and classes on top of all the job search that I am doing. I believe I have mentioned this before, but the focus this semester has definitely changed and I have learned (or am currently learning) to juggle between a lot more things than Fall semester like classes, assistantship, Comps, jobs, social life (the list goes on...). Luckily I have several cohort members who are in the same boat and we are great at supporting one another through this final stretch!
We also ave a lot of preview events and web chats planned for the month of March so that will definitely be a very busy month for everyone!
Looking ahead - few months
Obviously I hope to graduate! :)
Haha, but after that I really hope to secure a job so I can transition straight into work and go from there. I have been job hunting for the past few weeks now and have identified a few wonderful positions in California. New jobs are slowly appearing each week and I hope to apply to a lot of them. Now the hard part is applying and getting an interview!
Looking ahead - distant future
Who really knows? I love thinking about the distant future, but I try not o get too caught up in the dream. Dreams are only achieved when you do the hard work and the preparation beforehand. I have to admit that I am thinking about different aspects of my life that I have not thought of much before, but rather than psyching myself out, I choose to focus day by day and week by week. I think about what I can control and work hard to achieve my next goal. So what am I looking forward to? Lots of things! I just have to be patient.
But before we get into the deep stuff, I will post a couple pictures of some food that I recently made!
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| never had this kind of popcorn before! COOOL |
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| Kimchi fried rice with egg, spinach, and pastrami |
Looking ahead - few weeks
The comprehensive exam for Higher Education is coming up and I am starting to prepare for it (slowly but surely). The next few weeks will be dealing with Comps and classes on top of all the job search that I am doing. I believe I have mentioned this before, but the focus this semester has definitely changed and I have learned (or am currently learning) to juggle between a lot more things than Fall semester like classes, assistantship, Comps, jobs, social life (the list goes on...). Luckily I have several cohort members who are in the same boat and we are great at supporting one another through this final stretch!
We also ave a lot of preview events and web chats planned for the month of March so that will definitely be a very busy month for everyone!
Looking ahead - few months
Obviously I hope to graduate! :)
Haha, but after that I really hope to secure a job so I can transition straight into work and go from there. I have been job hunting for the past few weeks now and have identified a few wonderful positions in California. New jobs are slowly appearing each week and I hope to apply to a lot of them. Now the hard part is applying and getting an interview!
Looking ahead - distant future
Who really knows? I love thinking about the distant future, but I try not o get too caught up in the dream. Dreams are only achieved when you do the hard work and the preparation beforehand. I have to admit that I am thinking about different aspects of my life that I have not thought of much before, but rather than psyching myself out, I choose to focus day by day and week by week. I think about what I can control and work hard to achieve my next goal. So what am I looking forward to? Lots of things! I just have to be patient.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
PhD weekend
So this past weekend was the PhD weekend where we invited the final candidates over to visit campus and have a chat with the faculty. It was a great opportunity to see behind the scenes work with the admissions office and see the entire process of a PhD applicant.
It all started Friday night when the applicants arrived at the hotel and had a nice dinner at Davio's. The Admissions GAs (including myself) helped with the registration and the welcoming of the students.
Saturday was the BIG day. We started at 8am setting up the conference room for the poster session so that the applicants can walk around listening to PhD students and faculty talk about their current research and interests. After the poster session we all walked to GSE and had lunch. Shortly after lunch the applicants started the conversations with faculty one by one until essentially dinner time. During that process the Admissions GAs would be stationed at each floor and help the applicants get to each room within a timely manner and provide snacks and drinks when needed. After the conversations were over, the applicants were all led to the Penn Museum where we had a nice dinner next to the Egyptian Gallery. The whole venue was really nice and we worked hard to make sure everyone, especially the applicants, were happy.
I did not attend Sunday morning events but it was a nice breakfast at Davio's followed by a trolley tour around the city f Philadelphia. Overall the events went really well and the applicants really enjoyed their time at Penn GSE.
And now we will listen to all of the feedback and prep for the EdD weekend in two weeks!
It all started Friday night when the applicants arrived at the hotel and had a nice dinner at Davio's. The Admissions GAs (including myself) helped with the registration and the welcoming of the students.
Saturday was the BIG day. We started at 8am setting up the conference room for the poster session so that the applicants can walk around listening to PhD students and faculty talk about their current research and interests. After the poster session we all walked to GSE and had lunch. Shortly after lunch the applicants started the conversations with faculty one by one until essentially dinner time. During that process the Admissions GAs would be stationed at each floor and help the applicants get to each room within a timely manner and provide snacks and drinks when needed. After the conversations were over, the applicants were all led to the Penn Museum where we had a nice dinner next to the Egyptian Gallery. The whole venue was really nice and we worked hard to make sure everyone, especially the applicants, were happy.
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| The admissions staff at the Egyptian gallery! |
 |
| first course - Caesar salad |
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| second course- salmon with bok choy and rice cake |
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| third course - chocolate gelato and apple pie |
I did not attend Sunday morning events but it was a nice breakfast at Davio's followed by a trolley tour around the city f Philadelphia. Overall the events went really well and the applicants really enjoyed their time at Penn GSE.
And now we will listen to all of the feedback and prep for the EdD weekend in two weeks!
UCSF Formal
I apologize for my tardiness with my posts!
These past couple of weeks have been crazy and I have not gotten my life in order yet. I have gone back to San Francisco for a formal (which I will talk about in a bit) and helped with the PhD event here at Penn GSE. Needless to say, there is a lot of things going in my life right now. Hopefully within the next few days or so I will be able to catch up and get into a rhythm once again.
So to recap on my life thus far...I flew back to San Francisco over the weekend to attend my girlfriend's winter formal. Each year the pharmacy school hosts a very elaborate and fancy event for the students, and unfortunately last year I was unable to attend. So this year I booked well in advanced so that I could attend the event. It was also very nice to see Nancy again and to spent a little bit of time with her. The schedule actually worked out pretty well since Penn GSE had just started (Though I do believe that this trip has pushed a couple of things in my schedule behind).
The venue was held at the Westin, which was a very nice hotel. They had desserts and a few photo booths for everyone inside and a small ballroom for dancing. I really liked the event because they played 1950's music at one point and it was really interesting to see how people reacted to that type of music.
Overall it was a great mini escape before my semester officially started. I know for the next few weeks I will be working on job apps, papers, and helping out in plenty of admissions events.
My next post will be talking about the PhD weekend that we just hosted recently!
These past couple of weeks have been crazy and I have not gotten my life in order yet. I have gone back to San Francisco for a formal (which I will talk about in a bit) and helped with the PhD event here at Penn GSE. Needless to say, there is a lot of things going in my life right now. Hopefully within the next few days or so I will be able to catch up and get into a rhythm once again.
So to recap on my life thus far...I flew back to San Francisco over the weekend to attend my girlfriend's winter formal. Each year the pharmacy school hosts a very elaborate and fancy event for the students, and unfortunately last year I was unable to attend. So this year I booked well in advanced so that I could attend the event. It was also very nice to see Nancy again and to spent a little bit of time with her. The schedule actually worked out pretty well since Penn GSE had just started (Though I do believe that this trip has pushed a couple of things in my schedule behind).
The venue was held at the Westin, which was a very nice hotel. They had desserts and a few photo booths for everyone inside and a small ballroom for dancing. I really liked the event because they played 1950's music at one point and it was really interesting to see how people reacted to that type of music.
Overall it was a great mini escape before my semester officially started. I know for the next few weeks I will be working on job apps, papers, and helping out in plenty of admissions events.
My next post will be talking about the PhD weekend that we just hosted recently!
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