I just want to start out by giving a shout out to who will most likely be my one and only faithful reader, even in Swaziland -- Pamilla, you da woman.
But welcome to my blog, version 3.0! The only blog or journal or what-have-you I've ever consistently kept was my blog during my 4 month stint in Germany almost exactly 3 years ago, and I think that's because it was a crucial time in my life on which I felt I needed to reflect. I don't do well with technology, but it's linked to this, so if you're interested in reading about my experience, that blog is entitled "Bier, Schnitzel, und Sprache." Aside from my semester abroad, I was going through a lot of difficult life changes, and it came through at times in some of those blog entries. All I can say is I've grown a lot since then, and am a wildly different person as a result.
Anyway, welcome to "Undetermined Nonsense!" I typed the name not entirely sure what this would be... apparently I'd attempted a grad school blog entitled "A Glimpse into Higher Education" and I saw that tonight and went "ew." I'm not here to be superficial about my experience, and mostly I want to keep Pam in the loop while she's in Africa. We talk just about every day, and I have to honestly say that the idea of her being in Africa for the next 27 months and me not knowing what to expect from her in terms of communication really freaks me out. It was so hard for me to keep track of my little sister during her past college semester in Spain, so I can't imagine how my friendship with Pam will look like in the future. But this is my small attempt at keeping windows into each other's lives open. Her experience so far in grad school seemed very powerful, and her excitement for me to begin my own experience was so kind and sweet and typical of her.
Anyway, here I am living in my own apartment in Indiana, PA, for the next 2 years. I've been here a month already, which is weird to say, but oddly enough it's starting to feel like home. My graduate program is M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Indiana University of PA, and I have a graduate assistantship in the Office of International Education with Study Abroad. Kind of perfect, am I right? I thought for sure that going for SAHE with a B.A. in German and International Studies would mean that ultimately, what my career turns into will have nothing to do with my undergraduate degree. But things work out, because here I am speaking to students about the incredible opportunities that come along with study abroad, and it's what I worked 4 years of my life for. I don't know if once I graduate I'll explicitly apply to openings at universities within the field of study abroad, but I know that it's one option I'll be thrilled to take if presented! (My boss was in China for work when she offered me the job; right now she's in Indonesia for work. How could I not love this field?!)
My assistantship doesn't cover the first summer of classes, so I won't be getting a head start on it (can't afford rent if I pay for those classes myself). But I am enjoying my work and the people I work with, and just getting used to a new level of independence. So far I'm wholly satisfied with my program, and today I even heard from my SAHE "Big." Her assistantship is in Student Life with Greek Life, which is one of the functional areas I want to pursue next year for my practicum. As it also turns out, she's my sorority sister in Zeta Tau Alpha, and is working on her practicum Susquehanna University - my alma mater! Such a small world.
All in all, these next two years will be what I make them. I already have one difficult goal: increase the amount of students going abroad. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, this office is unique (I believe). When I was at SU, a school of 2,300, it was a requirement for every class after mine to complete a cross-cultural experience for academic credit. Here at IUP, a school of approximately 15,000 students, I counted about 23 students going abroad this coming fall semester, and while I put together a "Where in the World is IUP?!" map for my office, my supervisor informed me that one of the students I listed had pulled out. To me, that's just unfortunate. So my goal is to substantially increase those numbers. When I'm applying for jobs, I want to be able to say I played a significant part in recruiting students to immerse themselves in global education. Hopefully I succeed!
