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. :)
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