Winter Break

Winter Break

Hi all! It has been a minute since I have shared information with you about life as the graduate assistant, so I decided to wrap the 2019 fall semester with a semester long recap 😊

At the beginning of this semester, I officially started my journey as a graduate student. This was an interesting transition. I did not enroll at a new school, and the MPA program is housed within the department I received my bachelors from. I knew many people, but the friends I was used to seeing everyday and lived with did not return this year. They graduated and moved on/home to start their careers. Thus, it was "just me" on this new journey. Freshman year all over again (not a bad thing 😂). But just like freshman year I jumped in with both feet and embraced every experience I could. 

My experiences started with tackling the alumni database. This database has over 500 MPA alumni and contains updates about the cool things these people have been doing since they graduated. It was a great way to see all the possibilities a MPA degree could lead an individual to. My job was to make this document more user friendly and make sure no errors existed. This was not a one day project and it was common for the database to be put on the back burner as other projects were more pressing. Other projects included research with Dr. Kobena, helping put on the Fall Reception, and running the PASS student organization. 

Outside of work as the graduate assistant, I was attempting to still have fun and enjoy being a student. I created a schedule for study time, work time and fun time. This helped me maintain my busy life. Tuesday nights were the night I spent all evening studying and working on assignments. Nothing could be scheduled on Tuesday evening or my whole schedule would be a mess. And if the schedule got messed up it took me all week to get it back together. Thursday's always included meeting up for lunch or dinner with my some of former teammates. We used to be together pretty much everyday, so getting together once a week is different but I am glad we have maintained our friendship and still get to joke around together. I have also been able throw in seeing/helping my sister adjust to college life, and compete in a handful of tournaments. I don't compete as often or as much as I used to but I a did win my first city title this semester and that is a great feeling! 

This week is full of finals, and thankfully I only have a couple projects to finish up. My classes with Chris Cole and Marcos Misis has taught me a lot. Chris taught Administrative Law and made the class very interesting and interactive. I wish he taught more class within the program because I learned more and embraced admin law more than I ever thought I would. If any current or future students have a chance to take his class, I highly recommend it! Dr. Misis was one of my professors in undergrad, and a big reason I decided to earn my MPA. His Homeland Security class provided insight on attacks, government policy, great discussions and the chance to think through and create my own policies. Again, this is a class I suggest everyone to take. It will open your eyes to many different things.

A lot has happened over the past 16 weeks and I only mentioned a few highlights. I look forward to having an even busier and even more exciting spring semester! Until then, I hope everyone enjoys winter break and gets the rest we all deserve 😁.