Hey all,
Thoughts about grad school, having completed one week so far: fosters independence, forces one to manage time well, forces one to be organized, not nearly as scary as I was expecting, manageable, and believe it or not...fun.
I'll elaborate on my aforementioned thoughts. Grad school definitely fosters independence. A new grad student has to seek out professors who have research interests similar to those of the student. I was able to do this several months ago, through visiting campus and a series of emails to a few different professors. Grad school also fosters independence because one's thesis project must be the student's own idea. As of right now, I have no clue what my thesis will be. Fortunately, I don't have to decide this until later next semester.
Managing time and being organized are skills that I tried to practice well in college. Being a graduate assistant requires that I teach two different labs sections, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. Organization is a must when teaching two lab sections of twenty-five students each. Managing time is also a must since I am balancing teaching plus taking my own course load.
Grad school is not nearly as intimidating or scary as I had built it up to be. I actually think it will be pretty manageable. None of my courses appears too challenging. I looked through the syllabus of my recombinant DNA class, and it will definitely be a lot of busy work, but it doesn't look like it will be difficult. My human genetics class will also be a good amount of busy work, but not that challenging. It looks like Taylor prepared me pretty well. Grad school will be manageable for sure, and definitely not too overwhelming.
It might be hard to defend that school is fun, but I'm having fun in my classes and in the office with other grad assistants. I've always enjoyed any type of academic setting. As a side note, my office mate is also a Master's student in Bio. We were talking the other day, and I discovered that he lives in Upland because his wife is a Master's student at Taylor! That was definitely a God thing. Of all the grad assistants I could have been paired with, I am placed with the one who now lives where I just spent the last four years of my life. Definitely a blessing!
Here's Sarah to tell you about what's going on in the workforce.
Hello all, Sarah here. Well. Let me begin by saying that I have quite an interesting position, definitely one you would have within a smaller community. My job is located in Marion, so I commute about 35-40 minutes daily. I am only part time right now, until my third title comes into the picture. By title I mean that I will work for three...not one, not two...but three different non-profit organizations, all part of my one position.
My "home" work base is with the Grant County Economic Growth Council, and Tim Eckerle (the director), Angie Lindahl (my former classmate and now co-worker), and I help manage the organization, which help job retention and creation within Grant County. I do a lot of secretarial and administrative items as Director of Operations. Tim is a great boss and likes for the public to always be questioning who is actually in charge among the three of us. :) But he is the brains behind it all, while Angie and I are the organization and designing behind it...for the most part. We put on events throughout the year, help disperse loans to different business so they can provide more jobs, etc. In the process we meet with many different businesses and local elected officials, like the mayors and representatives.
My other title is Director of Cardinal Greenway of Grant County. There is a network of trails that are built from old CSX lines. Each county has their own steering committee to help maintain that county's portion of the trail, which stretches across a good portion of Indiana. Again, I do a lot of the administrative work, but what's different here is I get to do a little more of everything. I am the only paid person of the steering committee, and also, I basically have a lot of freedom to choose what I want to do for the Cardinal Greenway of Grant County. I've used a lot of my previous producer skills to bring this section of the trail into the community more, and I'm attempting to get them more volunteers, as that is an dwindling area. I could go on but I'll stop here.
The third organization is the Convention & Visitors Bureau within Marion. Once I enter work there, I'll be full time. I'm meeting with a head person there with Angie this Wednesday.
Both of these organizations are very much small own but I've been learning a lot and I think it will be good for me to work here for a couple years until I feel the calling to move on to bigger things, possibly with my desire to work within film, like Heartland Truly Moving Pictures in Indianapolis, and organization that presents seminars and a festival throughout each year.
This is what my work experience has been in a nut shell. It's been really nice to have a break from school work and classes! But every so often, I do get a little bored. I miss the media department from Taylor University but it's a nice thing to still be half an hour away from them so that Ben and I can visit fellow colleagues and former professors. That's about it! Love you all!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Getting Settled
I had a mandatory meeting on Friday where I met the people I will be working with for my assistantship, and I got to see my office for the first time! Not too big, but definitely all I need. I have an office mate, and it looked like he might be a second year because there were already books on the bookshelf and stuff on the other desk in the room. I guess I'll meet him sometime this week. I also learned that I'll be assisting in teaching one lab section and independently teaching two lab sections of Bio 111. I'm looking forward to it!
Yesterday, Sarah and I sat down to make a list of churches we plan to visit in the next several weeks. We started with visiting one this morning that we both really liked. We'll definitely visit again as we begin our voyage to find a new church home.
There is a picnic today outside the main office of our apartment complex, so we hope to meet some of our neighbors and make more connections. Tomorrow is a big day, as Sarah goes back to work, and I begin my first week of classes and working.
Check back often!
Ben
Yesterday, Sarah and I sat down to make a list of churches we plan to visit in the next several weeks. We started with visiting one this morning that we both really liked. We'll definitely visit again as we begin our voyage to find a new church home.
There is a picnic today outside the main office of our apartment complex, so we hope to meet some of our neighbors and make more connections. Tomorrow is a big day, as Sarah goes back to work, and I begin my first week of classes and working.
Check back often!
Ben
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Let the Grad School Begin!
Sarah and I now reside in Muncie, IN. Following a relaxing summer, we moved on Tuesday, August 10th. We are living in university housing: Scheidler Apartments. We have a two-story apartment that feels a little tight occasionally, but I think it is just what we need.
Sarah will continue her job in Marion, IN at the Growth Council. It will be about a forty-minute commute, but it is a good job and definitely worth the commute. She will probably be there for another year or two before looking for another job in the Muncie area.
For those who are wondering, I will be completing a two-year Master's degree in Biology. I am planning on simultaneously completing a Biotechnology certificate along with my Master's. Biotechnology is fun (at least to me) and contains many of my interests. I have essentially secured a thesis adviser, as long as I perform up to her expectations in her course this semester.
My course load is nine credits: two main three-hour classes and three minor one-hour classes. You may need to read that again. Here it is in numerals, in case some of you think mathematically: 2 3-hr classes and 3 1-hr classes = 9 credits total. My main classes are 1) Intro to Recombinant DNA & RNA Techniques and 2) Human Genetics & the Problems of Humankind. My three other classes are seminars and discussion clubs. Classes officially begin Monday.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was the Grad School Orientation for all new grad students. This included a tour of campus, greetings and advice from the dean of the graduate school, and a time for a panel discussion. I did learn some helpful tips, but overall I wasn't too fascinated by the events of the day. What was more exciting was when I ran into Taylor alum after Taylor alum, and by the end of the day I had ran into eight fellow Taylor alumni. I did not know any of them that well, but I knew them well enough to recognize them and say, "Hey, you went to Taylor," right as they spotted me and thought the same thing. They are pursuing graduate degrees in disciplines ranging from psychology to music to creative writing. What a nice surprise it was to run into them.
This morning was the Biology Dept. orientation for all new Biology grad students. This was much more interesting, probably because I was surrounded by nerds of all ages, of which I am one. We learned about the department's facilities, met some fellow students and faculty members, and some of us learned about our duties as graduate assistants, of which I am also one. The orientation concluded with some advice about courses....followed by free pizza!
As I wrote above, I am serving as a graduate teaching assistant. This means that I help teach a lab section of an undergraduate Biology course. In exchange, the school waives my tuition and pays me a biweekly stipend. I still have to pay student fees, but these fees are minimal when compared to tuition charges. I learned this morning that I will be teaching and grading for the lab section of Bio 111, Principles of Biology 1. I share a small office with another grad assistant. I am required to work a total of twenty hours a week, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Some of those hours will be office hours, some will be time spent teaching in the lab, some will be spent grading, and some will be spent meeting with my superiors. I think it's going to be a great experience, both in making connections and in gaining experience for the future.
Upon completion of my two-year MS degree, I intend to begin a Doctorate program also here at Ball State. That will take an additional three or four years; some of my Master's classes will carry over to that program, abating the number of credits I will need to complete in the Doctoral program. It therefore looks like Sarah and I will be in Muncie for the next five or six years, most of those years probably spent in our current apartment. But I definitely need a doctorate so that I can be a professor. Let it begin!
Tomorrow, we're going to run some errands around town as we begin to get into the swing of things as the school year sets in. There are several orientation activities on campus this weekend. Most of them are geared toward undergrads, but we may still take advantage of a few of them.
Either Sarah or I will try to update this regularly, so check back often!
Au revoir,
Ben
Sarah will continue her job in Marion, IN at the Growth Council. It will be about a forty-minute commute, but it is a good job and definitely worth the commute. She will probably be there for another year or two before looking for another job in the Muncie area.
For those who are wondering, I will be completing a two-year Master's degree in Biology. I am planning on simultaneously completing a Biotechnology certificate along with my Master's. Biotechnology is fun (at least to me) and contains many of my interests. I have essentially secured a thesis adviser, as long as I perform up to her expectations in her course this semester.
My course load is nine credits: two main three-hour classes and three minor one-hour classes. You may need to read that again. Here it is in numerals, in case some of you think mathematically: 2 3-hr classes and 3 1-hr classes = 9 credits total. My main classes are 1) Intro to Recombinant DNA & RNA Techniques and 2) Human Genetics & the Problems of Humankind. My three other classes are seminars and discussion clubs. Classes officially begin Monday.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was the Grad School Orientation for all new grad students. This included a tour of campus, greetings and advice from the dean of the graduate school, and a time for a panel discussion. I did learn some helpful tips, but overall I wasn't too fascinated by the events of the day. What was more exciting was when I ran into Taylor alum after Taylor alum, and by the end of the day I had ran into eight fellow Taylor alumni. I did not know any of them that well, but I knew them well enough to recognize them and say, "Hey, you went to Taylor," right as they spotted me and thought the same thing. They are pursuing graduate degrees in disciplines ranging from psychology to music to creative writing. What a nice surprise it was to run into them.
This morning was the Biology Dept. orientation for all new Biology grad students. This was much more interesting, probably because I was surrounded by nerds of all ages, of which I am one. We learned about the department's facilities, met some fellow students and faculty members, and some of us learned about our duties as graduate assistants, of which I am also one. The orientation concluded with some advice about courses....followed by free pizza!
As I wrote above, I am serving as a graduate teaching assistant. This means that I help teach a lab section of an undergraduate Biology course. In exchange, the school waives my tuition and pays me a biweekly stipend. I still have to pay student fees, but these fees are minimal when compared to tuition charges. I learned this morning that I will be teaching and grading for the lab section of Bio 111, Principles of Biology 1. I share a small office with another grad assistant. I am required to work a total of twenty hours a week, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Some of those hours will be office hours, some will be time spent teaching in the lab, some will be spent grading, and some will be spent meeting with my superiors. I think it's going to be a great experience, both in making connections and in gaining experience for the future.
Upon completion of my two-year MS degree, I intend to begin a Doctorate program also here at Ball State. That will take an additional three or four years; some of my Master's classes will carry over to that program, abating the number of credits I will need to complete in the Doctoral program. It therefore looks like Sarah and I will be in Muncie for the next five or six years, most of those years probably spent in our current apartment. But I definitely need a doctorate so that I can be a professor. Let it begin!
Tomorrow, we're going to run some errands around town as we begin to get into the swing of things as the school year sets in. There are several orientation activities on campus this weekend. Most of them are geared toward undergrads, but we may still take advantage of a few of them.
Either Sarah or I will try to update this regularly, so check back often!
Au revoir,
Ben
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