The first full week

We just finished up the first full week of classes down here and so far, so good! It will definitely take some time to adjust to my new schedule...classes meet once a week for about three hours at a time. A little different than undergrad and I must say, snacks are a necessity. The workload is pretty intense (apparent when my first paper was due during my second class) but I'm really enjoying the subject matter so that makes it much easier.

Some of you were wondering how I'm filling all my free time if I only have classes once a week. And although it's tempting, I don't spend all that time at the beach or our pool...promise! A good chunk of my time is spent at my assistantship which has been great so far. I'm working at the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition (NRC for short!). The NRC works closely with the University 101 program here on campus and both are doing some outstanding work. My focus is primarily with the conferences area in the NRC which will keep me plenty busy but I will also have opportunities to edit publications and publish my own work if I'm interested. It is really exciting to be working in an office where I have exposure to research going on across the country. I think I will definitely enjoy these next two years!

One other piece of my assistantship that I have to mention is the course I'm teaching for peer leaders of the University 101 class. I love this part of my job, but what I loved even more was finding out one of our students is from Beaver Dam...what a small world!!