Last First Day

Happy new year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. It was great to have a few weeks to re charge the batteries. Today is the last first day (for this degree at least). I will be graduating in May, so the job search is going to be a huge part of this spring, along with my coursework, internship site and work here in Graduate Admissions. I have already started to apply to positions. I have been prepared very well, both through my coursework and internship in Career Services at DeSales. There is no part of a Career Services office that I have not had exposure or experience directly in. I know in the long run I will be fine, but transition is here and it’s exciting. The only limit I am putting on myself in the job search is no big cities for me. I know for my long term happiness I need open space where I can have my professional life, as well as have open space to indulge my love for the outdoors.
That is about all I have to say for now, but I will update throughout the semester on how things are going. I hope everyone is staying dry on this rainy day.

Cheers,

Ryan

Lessons Learned

No I have not been meditaing in a mountain range, but this time of year is always a great time to reflect on the lessons learned over the past 12 months. It seems like only yesterday that I was walking into my internship site. Now it’s December and this semester alone I have met with almost 100 students on various appointments this semester. It has been an great experience. Collaborating with students and providing them with the resources to help develop as professionals is very rewarding. It also allows me to see myself in a differnet light. You can’t be anything less than 110% yourself in student affairs work or students will pick up on it in a heartbeat. At times I have struggled with my confidance, but I have been blessed with great supervisors who have worked with me and as a result seen me grow.

It is a little scary to think in 5 months this journey will be over and another one will be starting. I know I have been prepared very well, both through my program and through my experience interning at DeSales. For myself I am looking across the country as positions in career services. I view life as an adventrue and I would love the oppurtunity to move to a completly different area and start anew. Right now though, I am looking very very forword to Christmas break to re charge the batteries. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,

Ryan

Grad Student Mom

Hi my name is Jen Topp and I am in the M.Ed. Student Affairs program. Becoming a grad student after working for 16 years in a completely different field as well as having two babies and raising them was in two words, an adjustment. For the first time in a long long time, I began to focus on myself. That sounds like a good thing—a relief—to someone who isn’t a mom and, in a lot of ways, it was. But the guilt is never far behind when a mom gives a few brain cells over to things other than house and home.

But, after wrestling with all the child-related what if’s and getting over the fear that I would be the oldest person in the room—including the professor—I began to have an amazing time as a student again. And the guilt began to fade away as I saw my husband (always a great father but a man with a full time job) take the reins with all the little tasks that make up a day in a family with children. The kids began to look to him for help with things when in the past, no matter what I was doing (making dinner, taking a shower!), they would ask me even if he was sitting there, doing nothing. He began to know their schedule probably better than I ever did, helping them with homework, signing permission forms, etc., while I could devote myself to reading for class and working on papers. He even CLEANED THE HOUSE.

So now, nearing the end of a three-year grad program, I’m now not only more educated and (hopefully!) a better candidate for a better job, I’m also a woman in a better marriage. I never imagined that would be one of the perks of going back to school. And while I still have some guilt that I don’t remember when my son’s history paper is due (or, honestly, what his History teacher’s name is), my kids have learned two things from their mom putting them second for the first time ever: education, at any age, is important (and do-able!) and a good marriage truly is a partnership. Sometimes it’s 50/50. Most of the time it’s not.

Where did the semester go?

Good afternoon everyone,

Sitting here typing this it is hard to believe that the end of the semester is in sight! Though graduate school has gone fast, this semester has felt like light speed. It seems like it was only a short time ago that I was taking my comprehensive exam. Now I am starting to apply for positions as I see them opening. As I was sitting in a meeting with my director at my internship site last week, it dawned on me how much I have gained in a little over two semesters working in the functional area of career services. Many programs here at KU have some sort of internship requirement. Here are my tips for making it meaningful in your development as a professional.

Don’t go for the easy site:
It is human nature in my opinion to take the easy road many times and this applies to looking for an internship site. I encourage new grad students to begin thinking as soon as you begin your program. Listen to people in your program who are further along as this will help guide you as your begin to contact sites. Also, just because a site has never had an intern before does not mean they would not be willing to host one. Don’t be afraid to ask. This is where you will be putting the theories learning in the classroom to practice so make sure it is a place you will allow you to do that.

Use the interview as a two was exchange of information:
After your initial email or phone conversation with the supervisor at that site, you will likely be asked to come in for an interview. Do your homework just like you would for a job. Research the office and the professionals in it as much as possible. LinkedIn is a great tool for this and for those that don’t have an account I would highly recommend it. Have several copies of an up to date and current version of your resume. The KU Career Development Center offers a FREE drop off review service for resumes. Have a clear understanding about first of all where you are as a growing professional, what you want out of the internship site, and how you need to be supervised to make that learning happen. That will allow you to ask the interviewer questions that will help know if the office is a good fit. Ask about opportunities for professional development such as weekly trainings or conferences the office traditionally attends.

Talk to everyone:
In the first two weeks of you starting at the site, make sure you take time to talk to as many people in the office and get a sense of who they are as well as their responsibilities. It is great networking and it will help you accomplish your projects much smoother.

Keep organized (goes for your supervisor too):
If you don’t already own a planner, get one. At the beginning of the experience, set up formal learning objectives for the semester with your supervisor. Make sure they are attainable. Taylor them to your needs, not http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/at-google-x-a-top-secret-lab-dreaming-up-the-future.html?_r=1&ref=technology the responsibilities of the previous intern. Schedule at least a weekly time where you and your supervisor can sit down and talk about your progress. Things get can get hectic in any work environment and sometimes these meetings can’t happen formally but their should be no reason they cannot carve out 15-30min a week to speak with you. During the meetings at my site, my director and I will talk about my progress, overall office activity/events, and a professional development topic.

I hope these tips help and if you have any questions about our programs here at KU feel free to give our office a call at 610-683-4200 or email us at graduate@kutztown.edu. Have a great day.

Sincerely,

Ryan

Continuing at Kutztown University

My name is Emily Zimmerer and I am in my first semester as a graduate student in the M.A. Couples Marital and Family Therapy program. After high school graduation I had a fairly easy time choosing where I wanted to go to college. I applied to Kutztown, was accepted and that was it. I knew since I was a little girl that I wanted to attend KU because my mother had and graduated from here. Plus I always loved this campus, with its old buildings and welcoming environment. I had a great undergrad experience here and made some really great, lasting friendships.

When it came time to start the grad school search, I immediately became overwhelmed. Kutztown was always an option for me, but I wanted to see what else was out there. I looked at fifteen different schools between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Then I found my dream school, Monmouth University. I loved how close to the beach it was and how amazing the campus was. A little side note, scenes from Annie were filmed there.

I began to apply to about ten different universities with my hopes up that Monmouth would call and I would be accepted. When the time came around to start hearing back from schools Monmouth was the first to call and congratulate me on my acceptance. Then came the hard part actually choosing from all six schools that accepted me – although with my dream school accepting me, you think this would have been easy.

When it came down to it, just because it was by the beach and was a great campus with an amazing counseling degree program, I needed to consider everything else, such as money and living situations. These were going to play a huge part in my decision. Kutztown had also accepted me and also offered me a better deal than any other school, which included a graduate assistantship.

The graduate assistantship offer sealed the deal for me. Having your tuition covered is a huge stress relief in an already highly stressful situation. Plus, I love the department I work in and the connections I have made because of it.

MSW

My name is Angeline and I am an MSW Student at Kutztown University and a Graduate Assistant in the Social Work Department. After graduating from Mansfield with my Bachelors in Social Work, I took a year off to work and gain some experience before beginning a master’s program. After working for a year it was time to find a master’s program that was accommodating to my needs. The MSW program here at Kutztown is accredited by the Counsel on Social Work Education which allows me the opportunity to complete the program in one year since I received my bachelor’s degree from an accredited program as well. In addition to being a full-time student and a graduate assistant, the program also carries an internship requirement.
I am currently interning at Clinical Social Work Associates Inc. in Pottsville, PA. It is a private practice that provides outpatient mental health services to individuals and families. My experiences at Kutztown have been rewarding and have prepared me for difficult situations that have been faced during my field placement. The program has been very accommodating to my needs and professors are readily available to help in any way. Although sometimes I feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to, I take a deep breath and tell myself it’s all going to be worth it in the end. Having an education is one thing that can never be taken away from you and it is something that I deeply value. Having the MSW program here at Kutztown as part of my educational journey has been rewarding thus far and I cannot wait to see what the spring semester is going to bring!

Learning Outside of Grad School

Good morning everyone,

When not doing school work or in class, there are a few websites that I like to look at as they allow me to indulge other interests I have academically.

Academic Earth (www.academicearth.org) is a website I discovered soon after I graduated Penn State and is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to learn a little more about a variety of subjects. On the website you can find lectures and full courses from some of the worlds leading minds at Ivy League schools. I find myself looking at many of the history lectures as I don’t get a lot of time to read much in that area. Reading for school takes up most of my time during the semester.

TED (www.ted.com) is a great site devoted to spreading the ideas of the worlds great thinkers. I’ve watched videos on almost every subject imaginable. The idea behind the website is to allow the free sharing of ideas that can change lives and ultimately the world.

We are hosting our fall Graduate Open House this Thursday. Come interact with admissions staff, current students, and faculty. To register visit www.kutztownmasters.com or call 610-683-4200. Have a great day everyone.

Daily life = work + study

Hi, everyone, I am international graduate student from China. Now, I am in the MBA program of KU, this is my last semester. I will talk about my daily life as a international student, hope I can bring you some fresh view about university life.

I took 4 classes this semester, even I am a full time student, it’s a heavy schudule. Most of my classmates are part-time students, they always take 2 or 3 classes per semester. I am also a part-time student worker in international student office, every tuesday to thusday, I work with my lovely international students.

As a MBA student, we always have a long reading list, that is our major task for class, for example, I need read 140 pages textbook for one class this week. Some books are interesting for me, but most of time you need to focus on the reading, or you will get nothing from the book. In addition of the reading, we need to take part in some group projects for classes. For a international student, group project is a wonderful way to learn how to work in the “American style”. Your teammates will teach a lot and also you can share your international experiences with them. A lot of professors encourage international students to post their opinions durning the discussion, I really like to share my points will classmates and learn some new ideas from them.

When I am free, I love to travel around the Kutztown area, the weather here is awesome, pick up the camera, take some pictures, what a wonderful life!

Chenkai

Networking

Good morning everyone,

Networking is a vital part of any profession. As such, there are many ways networking takes place. The most common is just face to face interaction, but online ways of networking are starting to proliferate. Often while working in my internship at DeSales in their Career Services office, I get asked how important LinkedIn is and if can really help you get a job. Over the summer when I attended the EACE (Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers) Conference I was fortunate enough to attend a session on just that.

In short, online networking tools like LinkedIn are useful in networking and looking for a job, but don’t rely on it. Another problem I encounter is people are not quite sure how to properly use sites like LinkedIn. Fear not because LinkedIn has a variety of ways you can learn to effectively use their site. First off they have weekly webinars that go through creating and managing an account to help get you noticed. These webinars are held every Tuesday and Wednesday and can be accessed at http://learn.linkedin.com/training/. The second option is to watch their series of Youtube videos at http://learn.linkedin.com/students/step-1/.

Graduate Admissions is now on LinkedIn! There you can start a discussion and get feedback from current graduate students, connect with our office with your questions, and get the latest on our upcoming events. Find us at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Kutztown-University-Graduate-Admissions-4113813?home=&gid=4113813&trk=anet_ug_hm
Have a wonderful day everyone.

That Time of Year

Good afternoon everyone,

It’s that time of year for many seniors graduating in May to start seriously contemplating graduate school. I’ve seen more than my share of students the first few weeks of the semester at my internship at DeSales University in their Career Services office. Many have already have taken their GRE’s and started to apply. Some are not sure though, and that’s ok! There is no right or wrong time to go to graduate school. Depending on the profession you want to pursue, sometimes a few years of experience can really add to the experience when pursuing your masters.

Some are not sure of their academic ability and see graduate school as a place where you need a 4.5 GPA, 30 page personal essay, and GRE scores of NASA a astronaut just to get in. In truth there is no set “minimum” GPA for entrance to a graduate program and most schools take many things into account when looking at a prospective student. Your degree from 10 years ago may not speak to your ability and desire to pursue a gradaute degree now.

This Wednesday in the McFarland Student Union, room 250 from 5-6pm we will have a Meet n Greet with current Kutztown graduate students. I will moderate the panel for a half hour, then there will be a networking session where you can ask them questions and gain more insight into what being a grad student is all about. Food will be provided. Visit www.kutztownmasters.com or call 610-683-4200 for more information on our programs. Deadline for spring admission is December 1st. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Sincerely,

Ryan Smolko
Graduate Assistant