Grad School: More Commitment

This past week my friends and I here at school all worked hard. We had a final to study for, after only two week of class. Our accelerated ecology course was the first environmental science course I took since graduating college in 2008. Three hours of class every day and a lab after lunch left little time for the information to truly absorb. We were all feeling a little strung out.

The final itself was set up differently from any other final I have ever taken. The professor had at the beginning of the course in his syllabus had 33 different questions all relating to main topics and ideas of the course. On final day each student was going to draw a question at random, it could be any one of the 33 in the bucket. They would then have 5 minutes to answer the question to the best of their ability, making sure to hit on key points presented during lecture. Other students would then be able to add to the discussion, as long as they were keeping on topic and adding positively to final. The final is 75% of your grade, 25% is class participation. That's right, you have ONE SHOT to impress the professor enough to get a good grade.

My friends and I studied hard the week before the final. But keep in mind a week before the final we only had half the information to answer the questions. We would do some alone studying and then get together and study in a group. The group study proved to be very useful. However, it was clear that the reason why it worked so well was because not one of us hadn't studied before hand to get the most information.

On final day I felt that I did pretty well. I got in, answered questions to completion and got out feeling like weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But the coolest thing was that everyone had clearly taken this final seriously and wanted the best grade they could get. The level of commitment from the fellow students made me feel honored and humbled (I know, opposing ideas) to know that I was part of this amazing group. We are all committed to learning and are taking the opportunities we've been given seriously. This makes for a productive learning environment. I couldn't ask for a a more worth while place to go back to school!

Hiking in Marquette

Last weekend I went hiking in Marquette, Michigan along the coast of Lake Superior. I really didn't expect much other than a very large lake and some trees, but the area surprised me. It was 45 minutes west of Munising, Michigan where Pictured Rocks are located. (See previous post). It looked a lot like the rocky coast of Maine. very beautiful. The trail we were on was the North Country trail. It was running along the coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michgan. North Country Trail which I didn't know until just now when I went to look it up and put on my blog either starts/ ends in New York along the Vermont boarder and begins/ ends in North Dakota. It is 4,600 miles. This is Longest National Scenic Trail. Coming from Vermont where we have the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail I have a soft spot for long distance hiking trails.

Ok North country trail folks, it would be SUPER cool if you could connect this to Killington Peak in Vermont so that on the top of Killington could either go North to Canada, East to Maine, South to Georgia or West to North Dakota. Although after looking at this map it's far from complete. I'll have to do some more research on this trail...

This is along Lake Superior

We climbed a hill we lovingly named sugar cube.

We then hiked inland and stayed at a lake. On the way out we climbed this hill!

Classes then and now

My undergrad school was the University of New England, a small school where the Saco river meets the Atlantic Ocean. Coming from a very small high school in rural Vermont I remember being excited that I could meet a new person every single day and not run out of people to meet by the end of the year. Of course, that was freshman year and people dropped out. Going to class was definitely a chore. Most of my friends were fresh out of High School, like myself and yes they knew they wanted to go to college but didn't have the motivation to really buckle down and do well. Undergrad was unfortunately a $30,000 a year social scene. Yes I went to class, yes I did study, and yes I at the end I got a GPA I was proud of, but something was missing, life experience.

Directly after college I didn't think I would be going back to graduate school. I thought that I was done with school. After 17 years straight of school I was done. I needed a reason to go back, and I just didn't have one. Instead I had drive to check out the world. I went to Africa, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming, California, Montana, Alaska, North Carolina, and probably a few others I forgot to mention. I realized that I really enjoy outdoor environmental education.

After finding a career I was passionate about I found that I was lacking some education, psychology and education courses. I knew I had to go back. I found motivation to return. My courses are coming much easier for me now. I've found that I want to go to class instead of feeling like I'm supposed to go to class. I truly am excited to see what I'm going to learn that day. I also have noticed that my other classmates are equally engaged. Its refreshing to be surrounded by people of like interest who have the same motivational level that you do. Unlike other careers I probably don't need to go back to school to work within my field. Myself and my classmates choose to come back, because we wanted to, that has made all the difference.

Rock Climbing

While I'm in Graduate School I will be working with high school students. During the summer the graduate fellows are taking classes that are giving us the tools to better understand and support the students who are going to be here. The school is a semester boarding school, students from all parts of the country come and learn.

I can imagine that this going to be a rough time for some students. I've been reflecting on my own high school and what was really positive for me. The single most positive activity that I did in high school was rock climbing.

Our school didn't have a football team, but instead had a rock climbing team. The rock climbing gym about half an hour away made it very inexpensive for us to go and practice, it was a team for boys and girls. At the competitions you were required to find someone from another team to belay you. The whole atmosphere wasn't about beating others, it was instead about personal best. Everyone would cheer you on and even if they were from another team they would help you and encourage you. The person who was belaying you was also someone you knew you could trust. There also was a great deal of mutual respect for all ability levels. This created a community setting of positive reinforcement. Everyone did well, regardless of who won.

This is the type of community I am striving to make here. Rock climbing gave me a safe space to meet new people, improve and challenge myself. It also was a great self esteem booster and community builder. Thank you Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center for providing me with such a wonderful space that all teenagers need.

Back to School

I got my boots tied tight, I got my lunch packed up, I hope I don't get in a fight... back to school... back to school

Adam Sandler, that idiotic genius of comedy got it right. Going back to school made me a little anxious too. Granted it wasn't about getting into a fight, or I guess if you were to take his quote a little further you might say that he was worried about making friends.

I wasn't really worried about making friends. I seem to be able to do that in most situations I put myself in. It might take a little longer depending on the group of people but I've never been friendless anywhere I went. The thing I was most concerned about was studying. I haven't been in school for five years. I graduated college, hit the Peace Corps, got out and bounced around, and then came back.

I know I wasn't ready to go to graduate school right out of college, I also know I would have picked a major I wasn't interested in. I considered going to graduate school right out of the Peace Corps. I thought about taking the GREs in Ghana, and then applying while still in the Peace Corps. This is what a lot of my group did. I didn't feel ready though. So I began to look for work. I couldn't not work, this was a non option. I decided that I would go home, work at the local ski mountain for the winter and then find a job more in line with my interests in the next season. Looking for work in States while I was living an ocean, and almost a hemisphere away wasn't going to happen.

I'm glad I waited. I'm glad that I sowed some wild seeds. I'm glad I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I didn't want to feel rushed or pushed into being someone I wasn't. I was still evolving and to cut the evolution of my identity short would have left me feeling vulnerable, disorientated, and probably immature. I stand by my decision to take this time, I needed to explore. I'm now entering a new form of exploration, school.

From all my wanderings I have realized that I am more invested, involved and excited to learn. I know why I'm here. After a little while of classes I've realized that studying, writing papers, and doing the reading are coming much more naturally to me the second time around than in undergrad. I have much more drive and curiosity about the subject I'm learning.

While I'm glad I took the time and knew what I wanted to do, I'm also glad I took the leap and returned. A friend of mine has been encouraging me to go back to school for years now, saying that I was too smart not to, was right in that it was a good choice for me. Being intellectually challenged has been something that's been missing in my life since leaving the Peace Corps. Maybe this is why I started reading and enjoying classic literature.  I was comforted by a thought I had last night. I was thinking about how truly happy I was to be here in this program and how school was encouraging and challenging me in ways that I needed. I'm a firm believer in fate. My next thought was, 'well I guess I'm meant to be here, doing this'.

To my readers I hope that you in your lives can take a deep breath and say to yourself 'I know that I'm meant to be where I am doing the things that make me happy.'

 

Camping on the 4th

This last three 4th of the July's I've spent them in a tent. In 2011 I was in Yellowstone, 2012 I was in Alaska, and this year I was in the north woods of Wisconsin. The whole point of the 4th of July is to celebrate the birth of this great country we live in. The United States definitely has it's pros and it's cons but it's the place I would prefer to live. The US is still a very young country in comparison to countries in Europe or Asia. The Declaration of Independence was only written in 1776. Fun fact it was written on July 2nd and went through a two day revision process and was approved on the 4th. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more

Well he got what he wanted. So John Adams basically came up with how we celebrate today. While fireworks, hot dogs and beer are great, the best way for me to celebrate isn't getting drunk, overeating and watching sparkly things in the sky. I prefer to celebrate by going out to the woods. The US doesn't have great ancient monuments such as the Cathedrals in Europe or the Great Wall in China. In the US those monuments live in National Parks, State Forests and Wildlife refuges. A barbeque is replaced by a hike through the woods with friends, and eating a well earned trail meal afterward. The shows, games sports, and parade can be replaced with camp games, songs around a campfire and sharing of memories. The guns and bells can be replaced by songs of birds. And of course fireworks, or illuminations as John Adams puts it, can be easily replaced by stars. Also my celebration doesn't end at any given moment it ends when I walk out of the woods.

I don't feel the after effects of the 4th with a hangover and 10 pounds of leftover hamburgers. Instead I take a shower and let the dirt, bug dope and sweat go down the drain. I wash my stinky socks, hang up my sleeping bag and put my pack away for the next trip.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

 

 While driving through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan I stumbled across a really awesome place. The town was called Munising. I picked Munising only for the distance it had from North Bay, Ontario. I was in North Bay at the time and wanted a place about 7 hours away. I considered stopping in Sault St Marie which is a town right on the boarder but decided against it because it was going to be only 5 hours from North Bay. I didn't feel that this was worth stopping at.
When I looked online to see if there was anything to do in Munising to kill time other than to go and watch Lake Superior I discovered that Munising is home to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore! What an amazing treat it was! The action of Lake Superior and retreating glaciers had carved out the soft rocks and exposed then along the shore. This gave a visual geologic history. Each color represented a period of time. I definitely became a nature nerd for awhile.

Pictured above is Miners rock, and below is from the same viewing platform that I was on only this one is Lake Superior.

This is Miners rock from a different perspective.

Other exposed rocks along the lakeshore.

And finally... the Africa quilt on my bed. Complete with Iggy, the prank Iguana.