Why I was hesitant to go back to school
I had always thought about going back to school to get my masters, but I never really knew if I was willing to go through the torture of having to do homework. I was working a 9 to 5 job at Federated IT and it was SO nice to come home and to have discretionary time! The other factor was the cost. I have never been interested or good at business, science or any of the skills that would lead me to get a masters in something that would make me a lot of money. So I was VERY hesitant to take on a lifetime of debt when I knew I wouldn't be in the most lucrative industry - International Development.
Why I did decide to go back to school
To be honest, I feel like everything just seemed to fall in place! First, a friend showed me the International Development Program at GW and it really called to me. They have a focus on practical education and skills courses in order to prepare us to be capable development practitioners. In perfect timing, I met a girl that was working full time at GW and she told me about their tuition benefit. If I worked full time at GW, I could get 96% off tuition! At that moment I had a feeling that it was all going to work out and that I would end up at GW.
How I prepared to get into GW
I am not a good test taker - so I put everything I had into studying for the GRE. I bought the online kaplan services which is a several month study course. It was great - you take a practice test every other Saturday. Kaplan then analyzes your answers and tells you what you to study that week in order to most improve your score. Though - the practice tests are four hours each - that was not so great. I will admit - I did have a little miracle. The week before taking the GRE, I decided to do a few extra essay questions for practice. I was very thorough and compared each of me practice essay question answers to what their grading rubric is. The day I went to take the test, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time because I am a VERY slow test taker. When I got to the essay section I was completely shocked when I got the same exact question that I had done for practice the week before. I was able to write the essay fairly quickly and got a decent score on it. It was too serendipitous to be a coincidence. GW was the only grad program I applied to. I put all of my eggs in that basket and luckily it worked!
My job at GW
I didn't apply for any jobs at GW until after I had been accepted to the IDS program. I wasn't having much luck until I got called in for an interview for a part time secretary position with the Physics Department. At the interview the department chair looked at my resume and my three years of office management experience and let me know that I would be a perfect fit for their Operations Manager position. The position had just been posted that day. She pretty much offered me the job on the spot. It was more than I could have asked for! Working on a university campus has been amazing. I have especially enjoyed working with the faculty of the Physics Department. They are quirky scientists, but they are also hilarious and so kind. We had some good times.Attending my program
I remember attending my first cornerstone class and immediately feeling like I had found my tribe. Grad school is great because you have the chance to surround yourself with people that are passionate about the same things you are. My cohort had about 60 people in it. The small group that I got to know a small group pretty well. I hung out with them when I could. But I was a bit busier than most as I was working full time and planning a wedding. The courses were all great. A neat aspect of the program is that a lot of the teachers were adjuncts that had full-time jobs in the development sector. The program was great in the sense that it had the prefect balance of theory and practical, real world education.
How did I balance it all?
I have been asked by several prospective students on how I balanced my school work, job and personal life. I was honest with them - while I will be able to graduate with a decent GPA and leave on good terms at my job, I will always feel like I never really did balance it all. I always felt that I wasn't the best employee I could be because I was stressed and preoccupied with school and I felt that I couldn't be the best student because my job was eating up all of my social time. Once I started dating Sean, I had no other free time. This did take a toll on my other relationships. I also was never able to get an internship. Which might hurt my chances of getting a job after I graduate. However, I will say that leaving graduate school with no student debt will make it all seem worth it! (At least that is what I keep telling myself).
Support
I also feel like I have to give a huge shout out to Sean for all of the support he gave me during this hectic time. The day I got my official job offer with the Physics was the day of my 2nd date with him. It is crazy to think that Sean only knows me as a GW student and employee. He has picked me up from class, he has cooked a lot of our meals, he has done the dishes and he has been understanding when my entire weekends would have to go to writing a paper. I'm so glad that I had him around!
What am I going to do with my degree?
That is the big question - when I applied for the program I was single and without attachments to keep me grounded. Now I am married to a foreign service officer - which will have a large effect on my career. I have moments where I worry about it. But at this point, I have a feeling it will all work out and that I will be able to put my degree to use.
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