Thinking Forward!

Sorry for the delayed update. I have been quite busy with the usual papers, reading, and work. Anyhow, I am looking forward to going home on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. In spite of my usual busyness, I had some opportunities that helped me look forward to the future.

1. Last Wednesday I registered for spring classes. Because I am a junior, I got to register on the third day of registration, which means I got all the classes I wanted! Next semester I am taking British Lit after 1945, Teachers in Film and Fiction, Self and Identity (last philosophy class!), Personality, and Dance. I really want to take a musical theater class, but I have to audition. I do not know when I will audition, but if I get into that class, I will drop my psych class.

2. On Tuesday I went to a post-grad service dinner. I have gone back and forth for a while about whether or not to go to grad school right away or take the year off to work or do service. I sat at a table with education majors or others interested in teaching, plus a professor who taught in West Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer and the coordinator for PACE. PACE stands for Pacific Alliance in Catholic Education, and it is a program where you teach in a Catholic school and live with three to six other teachers. You take summer and online classes and earn your credential in two years. I also heard faculty and staff speak about their experiences in volunteer programs such as Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Peace Corps, and Americorps. Though hearing about their experiences were interesting, right now I want to go to a credential program right after I graduate in 2012. However, I may change my mind in what I want to do. That said, I am glad I went to the dinner and know about the options out there.

2. On Wednesday I met with a counselor at the Career Center. I told her about my thoughts for grad school and some of the career options I want to pursue. I learned that there are so many different opportunities outside of education, and right now my problem is figuring out what I want to do. A conversation with one of my old high school teachers inspired me to look at educational opportunities other than teaching. She told me that she does not like to stay in the same career, and as a person who likes change and new experiences, I could relate to that. I want to teach, but after a few years, I may want to do something else in education. Right now my plan is to get my teaching credential after I graduate, teach for a few years, and later get a degree in school counseling or college student personnel. Other career opportunities I am considering are working in a college admissions office or being a college counselor. The counselor gave me some handouts about graduate school and informational interviewing. When I have some time, I am going to contact people I know who have the kinds of jobs I would like to pursue and set up time to talk. I have also been researching different grad programs to see what kinds of studies I could pursue.

3. On Thursday I met with my former lit studies professor to talk about an idea for my senior thesis. I have to submit a proposal to the English department with three ideas that I could write about for my thesis in mid-February. My first choice for a thesis idea is to expand on the ten page Catcher in the Rye paper that I wrote about in this professor's class. Because I want to teach high school and that book is a regular staple in high school English classes, I want to examine what about the book or Holden appeals (or does not appeal to high school students). Writing about this topic would be beneficial in my future career so I understand how my students react to the book. My other two ideas are looking at books where the main character overcomes a mental illness or expanding on a paper about E.E. Cummings that I wrote about for my intro to lit class. Though the thesis will be a big undertaking, I am excited because I can write about a topic I am truly interested in and work closely with a professor. I am hoping to write it in the fall because I will take my last English class.