Month: February 2013
WMU – Excellence meets Convenience
Confession: I initially began my graduate career at Western because it was convenient. It was close to my home for an easy commute and I had already completed my undergraduate program here so I was familiar with the campus, the programs, and the faculty. This convenience has served me well. From night classes to weekend workshops, online classes and hybrid classes, the familiarity and flexibility of available courses enabled me to complete my requirements with a minimal interruption to my already busy life being a wife, mom, music therapist, etc.
While I always understood that an education from WMU was one of quality and substance I had not thought much outside my own little world, nor had I investigated what happened in other places at the university. Becoming a Graduate Student Ambassador this year has pushed me out into areas of Western that I hadn’t explored or imagined. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised at what I found, my own program is consistently one of the best in the nation and the School of Music has awards and accolades too numerous to contain in a simple blog entry. Nonetheless it was a revelation to me as I began to research and interact with the various programs assigned to me, that Western Michigan University has much to proclaim and promote when it comes to excellence in graduate education.
Here are just a few of the highlights:
From the Comparative Religion Department: The program has a strong pedagogy focus, consistently reported as highly favorable by graduating students, preparing them for the competitive PhD arena and for teaching beyond graduation. The WMU Comparative Religion program is also the only US program with an online certification program, The Spirituality, Culture, and Health program.
From the Philosophy Department: This program receives about 70-80 applications a year and currently fields an extremely competitive department nationwide. The MA program is a stand-alone program and is a unique and elite program relative to other universities. It consistently receives high honors and accolades in the philosophy and academic community. For students seeking a master’s degree in philosophy, this program can provide distinct advantages when seeking to attain the next step in the educational process. Western’s philosophy majors consistently receive paid assignments in the highly competitive PhD community; and the department boasts a nearly 100% placement ratio for their graduates that go on to pursue further education.
From the Spanish Department: WMU’s Spanish program has exciting opportunities in study abroad. We do an exchange program with a university in Mexico where graduate students can teach English for a semester at the university. Studies are also offered in alternate years in Spain. Many students in the graduate Spanish program are increasing their attendance at professional conferences as attendees and presenters. The Spanish department has a strong emphasis on teaching. All TA’s take an introductory class on teaching and are required to attend a two-week orientation before taking on their teaching assignments.
From the English Department: This department offers 10 potential degrees in three areas: Literature, English Education, and Creative Writing. A unique relationship exists where all three academic programs work together rather than as separate entities. Students enjoy close faculty mentoring and teacher training, the fastest time to degree on campus and an excellent job placement rate. The Creative Writing PhD program is ranked in the top 5 nationally.
This is a small representation of the scholarship and quality that is available for graduate students at Western Michigan University. Most impressive to me, as I interviewed faculty in various departments, was the dedication and passion faculty members displayed as they discussed their programs and students. If I could meet with every department that offers graduate programs I’ve no doubt I would continue to experience similar responses and discover yet more exceptional educational programming. The lesson for this graduate student? WMU is an institution devoted to providing the most excellent graduate programming possible… and it just happens to be a convenient drive for me as well!
Unintended Consequences
When I started graduate school, I didn’t really know what I was signing up for. I knew I enjoyed my subject area and that a graduate degree was necessary for the type of professional work I was interested in. However, I also found out graduate school led to many unintended consequences.
At the height of my coursework, I was taking three graduate courses and working full time at WMU. On the days I had class, I was on campus for 13 to 14 hours a day. My life revolved around work and school. I had to turn down social invitations from friends and family because I was either in class or doing homework. As I worked through each semester, I sometimes reflected on my life and felt like I was wasting these years. My relationships were suffering. I was tired. I was stressed out. I felt like I wasn’t living my life.
However, something unexpected happened. All those hours in class and completing coursework didn’t happen in isolation. I was surrounded by people. And these people became some of my closest friends. In between t-tests and chi-squares, I was building new relationships. These people weren’t just classmates; they became like a family.
Even though it sometimes did not feel that way, I WAS living my life. We were all living our lives in between classes. I celebrated engagements, marriages, babies, and birthdays with my new friends. We shared meals and we traveled together. And soon we will celebrate graduations, job interviews, and new jobs together.
These people became a great professional network. My classmates have reviewed cover letters and resumes, forwarded job postings, and networking amongst each other has even led to jobs.
To graduate students who feel like your life revolves around coursework, homework, assignments and exams, take a step back and look at what else is going on. You are meeting people, networking, building friendships and professional relationships. Take advantage of this time of your life, no matter how tiring and stressful it is. The people in your classes might not just help you with this week’s assignment…they might help you get your next job or become one of your closest friends. Enjoy this time while it lasts.
The Age of Discovery
“Just as a new scientific discovery manifests something that was already latent in the order of nature, and at the same time is logically related to the total structure of the existing science, so the new poem manifests something that was already latent in the order of words.” – Northrop Frye
According to Wikipedia, the age of discovery began in the 15th century and continued well into the 17th century. According to many mothers, the age of discovery occurs in a child’s first three years. I would argue that the age of discovery, for us as individuals and for the human race as a whole, is an eternal event. We are constantly discovering – the world around us and the infinite possibilities within us. I would also argue that it should be that way.
My personal age of discovery is in its fifth decade and still going strong. I have discovered many wonderful things. Not necessarily anything new and extraordinary for the rest of humanity, but nonetheless incredibly amazing to me. That’s alright though. Newton may get the credit for gravity, but every child discovers gravity when they are learning to walk. Many past history books have given Christopher Columbus credit for the discovery of the Americas, which came as quite a surprise to all of those people already living there.
Graduate education has been an incredible rich field for discovery. I’ve discovered that despite rumors to the contrary, I can do ten things at once. I’ve discovered that the stubborn streak my mother complained about so much in my youth (I prefer the term tenacity), comes in very handy when you have to prepare for a test, write a paper, and read two or three journal articles…by tomorrow. I’ve discovered that a spouse who believes in you is more valuable than all the gold Cortez discovered in Mexico (already in the possession of the Aztec people).
I’ve discovered that “I can”. I feel very lucky in that regard, considering that so many people never get past the discovery of “I can’t”. I have discovered that helping others achieve their goals is almost certainly a tremendous boost towards achieving mine.
I have found that some of the best discoveries of my life came as complete and utter surprises. Many of my greatest discoveries have been the result of searching for something else. A couple of years ago, I was certain that I was going to be an accountant happily working for a small to medium sized company. Then I discovered that I have a strong desire to do research and to teach. So last year I began researching PhD programs across the country. I discovered that finding the right PhD program can be a lot more work than I had imagined.
I am very grateful to still be living in the age of discovery.
“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not “Eureka!” (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny’…” – Isaac Asimov
The Grad Word 