Summer 2013

I love how I thought I would have time to regularly keep a blog throughout this experience.

I'd just like to take a few moments now to talk about my summer - the first two semesters of my program.

Summer I was more informal than anything.  I had two classes, although one was actually a whole summer course.  That class was my grad-level content course: Ecology.  I had never taken an ecology course before, so I was excited to get some new knowledge!  I was a little worried, though, because this class was all online.  I had also never taken an online class before, so I had NO idea what to expect.  Honestly I was worried I'd have to teach myself everything, write papers constantly, participate in forums, etc.  It was truthfully nothing like that.  My professor recorded lectures as if we were in an actual classroom with him and then posted them online for us to watch at our own pace.  That was awesome.  I could "go to class" in my bed and could pause his lecture if I had to use the restroom or if I got hungry.  All of the tests were online and open-book too.  We did have one small paper to write at the end of the semester, but that wasn't bad at all.

The second class I took in Summer I was the first education class of the program.  My professor was from Michigan (hooray!) and was such a great instructor.  She has spent a bunch of time working with students of all ages and is really passionate about her job.  I loved the discussions we had in this class.  We (members of the science cohort) really got to know each other through this class.  We bounced ideas off each other constantly and challenged ourselves.  This class was only three weeks long, but it felt like it FLEW by.  We were in the classroom most of the day throughout the week and I can tell you that I was not once bored.  I was engaged the whole time and I loved it.  It was my first education class ever, so I guess that's a good sign!  The "end-of-semester" projects for this class were our very first unit/lesson plan outline and a classroom safety plan.  The unit/lesson plan thing was pretty simple.  Basically we had to pick a topic and split up lessons over a week's worth of classes.  We didn't have to actually plan any of the lessons, we just had to come up with ideas of what we might do as supplemental instruction and such.  The classroom safety plan was a little more intense.  We had to use sources and other educators' ideas to form our own safety plan for our classroom, no matter where we teach.  I was a little overwhelmed at first by these assignments as I had never seen or heard of anything like these really, but I soon realized I was thinking too much about everything.  I spoke with a couple of people from the previous year's cohort and they helped me realize that it wasn't quite as complicated as I was making it.  I quickly adjusted my efforts and completed the assignments.  Before I knew it, Summer I was over.

Onto Summer II!  I still had that good old ecology class, but I did have two new education classes.  One was about psychology in the classroom and another was basically about learning theories.  Both were challenging in a very good way.  I learned SO much in my psychology class and was able to practice what I was learning in my learning theory class.  I was able to plan some fun chemistry activities and get some GREAT ideas from my cohort about biology activities.  

My psychology class was probably my favorite of the whole summer.  I don't know what it was about this class, but I was fascinated by everything we were learning.  I had never been able to pay complete attention in a class (that was really mostly lecture) before this.  I don't know if it was because my professor was quiet and I had to really listen to hear what she was saying or if it was that I was afraid I would have no idea what was going on if I didn't listen or if it was just that I loved learning about this stuff, but I was able to sit and listen to her talk and had absolutely no fear asking questions or answering her questions.  I'm pretty sure I ended up being her go-to when no one else was answering her questions.  I don't know how it happened, but honestly I wasn't going to pass up any opportunity to learn.  We had a semester-long group project that balanced out the lectures.  I was able to work with two members of the science cohort, so it was pretty great.  We worked really well together and got a TON of great feedback from our professor.  Most fun I've ever had in a group project.  We even got to have a conference-like poster presentation at the end of it all!

My learning theory class, on the other hand, was not my favorite.  The professor had a really unique teaching style that just didn't mesh well with mine.  He is a chemist, though, so I was able to get some very specific feedback from him about my activities.  We also wrote our first teaching philosophies in this class.  My original was pretty much nothing like my final draft.  I still don't really know if I really got the idea of what a teaching philosophy was supposed to look like, but it ended up being 12 pages of A-quality work, so I'm just going to assume for now that it was at least acceptable.  I really enjoyed the activities we got to plan in this class, but I had to pull an all-nighter the evening before this class ended to finish up my projects.  I don't have too much else to say about this class as I really tried to be as removed as possible unless my classmates were presenting ideas or we were working in student groups.  If you talked to me at all during this semester you probably heard me mention small things about this class.  I think I've done a decent job leaving most of those out of this description.  I'd say that I really did learn in this class, but I'm going to leave it at that.

I also had to take the Praxis content exam this summer.  It's a national exam students take to prove they have the knowledge needed to teach such content.  There are several types of tests (and Michigan uses none of them), but there are some specific science ones.  It's all good news, too!  I passed!  I will now be allowed to teach science, at least in SC.

I'll save the extracurricular stuff I did this summer for another post.  Time for school work!

Orientation and Other Thoughts

About a week after the scholar dinner we had our program orientation.  This was the first time the whole group of new grad students was together.  I recognized the individuals I had already met and quickly started talking with them again.  It was fun to already have a sense of camaraderie established among us.  Our cohort will be together for the next 13 months, so I guess it's good that I already get along with some of them.  There are a handful of people in the group who are close to my age, so that's really fun.  I was a little worried that I'd be among the younger individuals in the program, however that is definitely not the case.  I'd say there are more "younger" people than "older."  I was pretty surprised at the number of people who were entering the program just having earned their undergraduate degrees.  I know this relates to my incorrect idea of being the "young person" in the group, but this actually happens.  Clemson has a degree path set up for students who intend to become teachers, but perhaps didn't quite realize it or have it planned out until after starting school.  CU has it organized nicely so that a student can earn a BS in science or mathematics in his/her first four years, and immediately follow that with the accelerated MA program to become a teacher.  Way cool - I mean, just over five years and you're ready to go with an advanced degree.

Obviously that's not the case for me as I have waited three years to get the ball rolling.  I don't know that I would have been ready for this right after I graduated with my BS.  Although I knew I really liked working with students and could see myself as an educator, I also knew that I really enjoyed my time in the lab in college.  I think the experiences I had as an undergrad led me to believe that an industry job would work for me.  That's the point, though: roles were never anything more than jobs to me.  I'm ready for a career!  I know now (and have for a while) that I can't see myself getting up every day to go to the same lab to repeat the same experiments on the same samples day after day.  That's not the type of challenging career I'm looking to possess.

So, yeah - I'm your average, fun-loving, twenty-something girl.  I like spending time with friends and getting my nails done.  I also LOVE volunteering and helping others.  I live for that kind of stuff.  So, duh, right?  Why not make it my career?  Now we're talking!  I can see myself helping/teaching people every day for the rest of my life.  I can make a difference?  SIGN ME UP.  Hopefully I feel the same way once this is all over and I have my degree.  :)

Scholar Dinner

The first school event I attended with students from my cohort was a scholar dinner.  Scholars from this year and past years were invited to attend a dinner on campus.  I was really excited to meet more students.  I also knew a handful of individuals from the finishing cohort, and I was excited to see them again too.

It was a little difficult for me to choose an outfit for the evening.  I knew it wasn't going to be a formal dinner setting, but I also knew that I wanted to make a good impression and look like a lady.

Finally made a decision.

Thankfully I didn't have to worry about your typical "What time do I arrive?" conundrum.  The PC had invited me to meet with her before the dinner to talk about a few business items that we weren't able to discuss prior to the dinner.

Not too long after my mini meeting, other students and faculty started to arrive.  The first person I met was an individual who had been home-schooled until his undergrad years at Clemson began.  I then met a few other people who are just as geeked about science and math as I am.  The tables were arranged in a horseshoe manner, so I didn't get a chance to speak personally with everyone, but we did take turns going around the group introducing ourselves, talking about our background, and then just engaging in regular discussion.  We talked with past scholars about their experiences and got a bunch of tips from them.  It was great to see them still smiling and saying good things about the program.  The faculty members present took some time explaining their roles in the program and at Clemson in general.  They did a really nice job, also, of providing more information about the details of the program.

We ended the evening with a series of group pictures.  I haven't actually seen any of the images that were snapped, but we'll just hope that if they are ever posted anywhere on the Internet that I look decent.

My Visit in March

I talked a while ago about how I made a trip to SC in March of this year to meet with people at Clemson.  I scheduled this trip within hours of receiving my acceptance notification from the university.   The actual trip (aka driving and such) was only tolerable because I had a friend in the car with me, but my time in SC was wonderful.  We arrived in SC on a Saturday afternoon.  We didn't do much until Sunday when we went to visit campus.  We walked all around the area surrounding Tillman Hall, as that was the building where I was going to be meeting faculty and staff.  I spent some time trying to plan my navigation through campus and where I'd end up parking my car for the meetings.

Campus is beautiful.

Football Stadium - Death Valley

Tillman Hall

That following Monday was my day to meet with pretty much everyone involved with the MAT program.  I started in Tillman Hall, meeting with a group of faculty members who were on the selection committee for the scholarship I actually received.  I had been given some directions ahead of time for where to find this group of individuals - they had invited me to come just as they finished their meeting so that I could meet everyone while they were still gathered - but I didn't really know where I was going.  As I exited the elevator in Tillman, I immediately recognized the faculty member who had initially interviewed me with the program coordinator (PC) via Skype.  She was pleased to see me and had heard about my scheduled visit.

She was kind enough to walk me to the meeting location and introduced me to the group, including the PC I had been talking with for months.  It was so awesome to be able to meet with the group and to be able to ask questions.  They were beyond welcoming and were excited for me to be visiting campus.  I felt like they really cared about the school and were honored to have me as a guest.

After a bit of conversation with these wonderful individuals, the PC took me to a nearby coffee shop to chat one-on-one.  It was such a relief to know that she really was just as friendly and helpful as I had assumed just from talking with her for a few months from Michigan.  I liked that I had the opportunity to sit down with her and be honest with her about my goals and such.  We talked about how the program would be a good fit for me, but we also talked about a few of the concerns I had.  It was a really good chat.

From there, she and I visited my would-be advisor.  We discussed the program more specifically and he told me a little more about the classes I'd be taking to earn science certification.  He and the PC talked with me about tuition and costs as an out-of-state student, but weren't able to give me any specifics.  The PC, however, took that time to tell me that I had been chosen as a scholarship recipient, so that definitely eased my mind a little on the money situation.

We were a little short on time, so we had to quickly make our way to a local school district to observe a 2012-13 cohort member student teaching.  That apparently didn't go as the PC had planned, as the entrance to the school was hidden behind construction, and we had to walk quite a ways to find our way into the school.  After all that, we ended up just watching a movie in the class.  We did get a chance to talk with the grad student and her CT, though, so that was nice!

Our schedule then took us to the satellite location of campus.  We were both hungry at this point, so we decided on dining at a cool Chinese restaurant near the school.  It was delicious.  This is when I first learned that brown rice is automatically an option for you in SC.  Woot!

After lunch we went to campus and met with another Clemson staff member who's really involved with the MAT program.  It was awesome talking with her and learning more about the satellite location and the surrounding areas.  I learned that she'd be helping me schedule my classes for the summer (which ended up being so nice because the site was a little confusing!).

After speaking with her, the PC and I trotted upstairs to meet with the group of science students in the 2012-13 cohort.  I had the opportunity (as mentioned in a previous post) to talk with the solo chemistry member of the group, and she gave me a bunch of advice and information about the program that was really helpful regarding my eventual decision.  It was nice to get the perspective of the program from a student.  She was really friendly and talked with me about her experiences being in a chemistry classroom.  She was definitely super excited about her path and her decision to be a part of this program.  When her class (the reason all science cohorts were in one location at the same time) started, we moved inside the room with the rest of the class and the PC introduced me to everyone.  Each person was again extremely kind and welcoming, and a few students gave me broader advice about making a decision.  It was really nice and made me smile a bunch as I knew that these students were at the peak of the program - student teaching and taking classes - and the fact that they could set aside those stressors to talk with me was very heartwarming.

Our day ended with the trip back to Clemson.  I thanked the PC for a wonderful day and ended up giving her a hug (whoa, right?).  I had just felt so great about being there and appreciated each conversation I had that day.  She had set all of that up!  Such a wonderful day!  I knew I had been won over, but I also knew that it was a big decision and that I had a lot of stuff to think about before making any commitments.

HA, funny Ashley.  I knew that day that it was going to be very unlikely that another school would be able to provide me such an experience.  After the long drive back to Michigan and a few days of misery, I eventually called the PC and accepted everything - the invitation to join the graduate school at Clemson and the scholarship.  Such a happy moment for me!

My CT

CT is an abbreviation for "cooperating teacher."  This person is the educator who allows you into his/her classroom for the school year and supervises you while you student teach for a semester.  With the way the program is set up at Clemson, most students don't have the opportunity to meet with a teacher prior to entering the classroom in the fall semester.  At orientation, information about subject matters and locations are gathered by a CU staff member, and then a committee of faculty and staff assign placements.  The committee has its list of "go-to" teachers and school districts, and many placement matches start there.  Placements haven't been finalized until August in past years, however this year the committee has a goal to assign all students to a certain classroom as early as possible.

Leave it to me to be the exception.

Let's go back to March when I first met with individuals from CU.  I had an opportunity to spend some time talking with a 2012-13 cohort member who also was the only chemist in her group.  After I ended up deciding to attend Clemson, I was able to get back into contact with this graduate student and scheduled a visit to her classroom for soon after I arrived in SC.  

My first visit was awesome.  I helped out with a lab, had lunch with the grad student and her CT, and then observed an honors class.  I really had a great time in the classroom and enjoyed talking with both professionals.  The CT talked a lot with me about my cohort.  She mentioned that one of the Clemson faculty members had told her she was going to be involved in the program for my cohort as well.  We started talking about pairing up and eventually decided we'd be a pretty good match.

I hadn't yet talked with anyone at Clemson about us meeting, but a few days after my visit I learned that the CT had spoken with a CU faculty member after meeting me, and that the faculty member was going to make the pairing happen for us.  I was super excited, of course, and soon scheduled another visit to her classroom.  Because of the block scheduling the school has, I was able to observe an entire different group of students for my second visit.  My CT suggested I visit on another lab day, which was awesome!  The students were able to take a simple experiment and test some variables to speed up their reactions.  It was awesome to see the students work together to try to reach the same goal: make it go faster!  After the lab, my CT and I were able to chat a little bit about my goals and hopes for the classroom.  We talked about this summer and how I wanted to be able to get a jump on the curriculum for next year.  She hooked me up with a couple of student textbooks and the standards and such for South Carolina.

Overall, she seems pretty amazing, and I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to meet with her and to have connected with her so quickly.  I mean, who knows how many teachers would have been so welcoming?  I know we're going to work great together!  She has a personality very similar to mine: she is very energetic and excited about chemistry and her students.  She honestly has already been such an inspiration to me and I've only seen her teach a few classes.  We're planning to meet up over the summer a few times, so that's fun too!

I'm not sure if any other students in my cohort know their placings yet, but I just feel like that's one less thing I can be worried about now.  I know when I walk into the classroom on the first day of school that I won't have to give another first impression.  I won't have to wonder if she'll feel comfortable with me because she has already let me work with the students at my own pace.  I'm excited to work with her, to learn from her, and to have her as a mentor.

Things couldn't be working out any better!  I'm so super pumped for next year.

What It Is

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about why Clemson was the right choice for me.  I talked about how it wasn't the only school to accept me, but I pretty much left it at that.

I filled out multiple applications as an attempt to reassure myself that "at least one of these places has got to accept me."  I couldn't stand the idea of being turned away, but I figured if I got my name out there enough, someone was bound to think I was worth the risk.  Clemson was my top choice from Day 1 (as previously mentioned), but I just really wanted to go somewhere.  I knew that I wanted to be back in school, so I was willing to go wherever I was accepted.

When I got my acceptance letter from CU, it didn't really click in my head right away.  I couldn't believe the first official response I had received was an acceptance.  I had really tried to prepare myself for the worst.  I had made a separate list of back-up schools to apply to if I wasn't admitted to any graduate programs.  I remember reading the acceptance message at work multiple times before finally leaving my computer and announcing my plans to my supervisor at the time.  I knew that at least one acceptance letter meant that I was going somewhere, and that meant I'd have to leave my job.  I actually still feel a little embarrassed by that conversation as the news really sunk in while I was talking to my boss.

Wait.

I was accepted somewhere.

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT.

I was admitted to my top choice school.

Oh.my.gosh!

I quickly started feeling very giddy and had to excuse myself to celebrate with a co-worker who was also looking into graduate schools.  I remember thinking that I didn't have to worry anymore because there was really no other option for me.  Clemson had stolen my heart from the beginning.

But that was just the first of good news.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have been accepted to each school on my application list.  What was I not prepared to do?  Make a choice between schools and turn down offers.

I'm at Clemson on a scholarship, so right now they're paying for my education.  That made the decision to come here even easier, obviously.  Funny thing is, though, that I was offered a chance to stay in the state of Michigan and further my education.

I remember reading the e-mail and thinking "Ohhhh goodness.  What am I supposed to do?"

On one hand, all I had done after being accepted to Clemson was talk about how great it was and how I was so excited to be a part of that program.  On the other hand, how was I supposed to ignore the offer to stay near most of my family and friends and join a group of elite individuals who had been selected by a national committee?

I learned quickly that my dilemma wasn't because I was in love with both schools.  It was a decision between taking a chance and being comfortable.  There was never another school to make me feel as welcome as Clemson did, but walking away from another opportunity was very tough for me.

I weighed pros and cons and whatnot, but none of the pros included reasons why staying in the state would result in better classroom experiences or a better education.  I talked with a few close individuals about the situation, but soon realized I had already made my decision.

There was a reason I felt so welcomed by Clemson.  Besides my program director constantly telling me that having questions was awesome and that she welcomed phone calls and messages from me at all times, I can't tell you the number of times I heard things like, "well, we're happy to have you," or "we're excited for this opportunity."  Do you know how good it feels to be wanted?  And I'm not saying that I wouldn't have been successful staying in Michigan.  I took a look down the road, though, and realized that the program I had been admitted to in MI worked with schools that are so desperate for educators that they would have hired me without any formal training.  Why go to school then?

So anyway, yeah.  I turned down other opportunities.  Obviously my time at Clemson has just started, but I can't tell you how great it feels to be confident in my decisions and how much I already love it here.  I'm not sure where my life and career will take me, but Michigan will always be my home.  I would love to be able to pursue my dreams back in the Mitten, but we'll see what happens.

I learned once I arrived in SC that I'm the first out-of-state recipient of the scholarship I was awarded.  You can't even imagine how proud that makes me feel.

And I need to interrupt myself here.  For those who know me well, I have to ask you: when was the last time you heard me tell you how proud of myself I am?  Modesty is one thing, lack of esteem is another.

There is no way I could ever look back now!

Finding a Place to Live

Finding an apartment was an interesting experience for me.  I knew I wanted to live along the interstate that runs through upstate SC, but I didn't really know anything about the cities along the expressway.  Thankfully I do have friends who live in the area, so they were able to narrow down some of my options based on safety and location.

First off I started looking for places in a familiar city.  Not only is it located between the two cities I'll be taking classes in, but it is also where my friends live!  I looked at a handful of complexes that were all in the same price range.

Side note: I had a few requirements a unit/complex had to fulfill for me to consider it.

• It should have 1 bedroom at most.  Studio style is preferred.
• I need to move in ASAP.
• It must have air conditioning, a dishwasher, and a pool.
• Pest control should be a regular service provided because bugs are icky and they're everywhere in the southern states (or so I'm told).
• I will have to be able to have internet service installed.

That being said, let's go back to apartments.

The very first location I visited was really nice.  It was right by a school and had a gorgeous pool.  I saw a Clemson-themed motorcycle in the parking lot near the leasing office, so I was feeling pretty good about it.  I went on a tour of a unit and thought it was pretty nice for the price.  I went into the bathroom and immediately announced my findings: "Um, there's a dead cockroach on the floor of the bathroom."  I was kindly corrected by the office personnel that it was actually a "palmetto bug."  The lady also encouraged me to be glad "it was dead and not alive."

Um, what?  By the way, I don't think I was so far off with my initial observation.  I'll let you search Google yourself to see just how similar the two species are.

Anyway, I figured since that complex didn't regularly check their vacant units (obviously - I mean, sweep it up!), I'd better check out a few other places on my list.  I was led to some other nice areas, all free of cockroaches palmetto bugs.  I liked most of the units I toured, but none of them were going to be available for occupancy until June or later, so they didn't really work for me.

I was next led to search for places in Clemson.  I wasn't really excited about the idea of living near a bunch of drunk college students, but I figured it'd be tolerable as it's quite beautiful in the city.  I didn't really look too much at these places, but I did get info from the school and had a friend who spent some time in Clemson identify some prime options for me.  I was about to schedule visits at a few of these places when I was taken in another direction - the other city where I'll be taking classes.

The whole time I'd been trying to locate a place to live (even before I left Michigan), I had been in regular contact with a few people from the 2012-2013 cohort of my program.  A couple of ladies I had been talking with live in this third city and had great things to say about the area.  They had suggested a couple of apartment complexes, so I decided to tour them.  I was pretty pleased with what I saw.  This city seemed to compliment my personality nicely.

I went back and forth for a day or so and ended up driving through each of the three cities again before making my decision.  I chose a complex right near the interstate (and a mall) and I love it.  I soon made myself right at home and started hanging out with a Clemson friend who lives in the same "neighborhood" (apparently they don't call them complexes here).

Needless to say, I have yet to see any icky bugs in my apartment.  I really hope I didn't just jinx myself!  The complex is beautiful, though.  There's a private pond with catch-and-release fishing for residents and also a "barking lot" for puppies to go and play outside.  People seem to be pretty friendly, so that's nice!  I hear/see kids playing all of the time, so it seems like a good place to live.