Poster presentations & IEDP love

Whew! Finals. Just two papers stand between me and actually enjoying the beautiful weather! And the completion of Spring semester!! However, a little break is necessary especially since I've been in the library for six hours and I am losing all motivation...

On the plus side--our curriculum project with the Aga Khan Foundation in Tajikistan was edited and submitted yesterday! 102 pages!

 Last week we had our policy brief presentations. It was conference-style, meaning we all just stood by our posters and discussed our topics to whomever stopped by. We did it in groups of eight, each rotating after 30 minutes. I took the more...economic route for the poster. I actually recycled it promptly after we finished, because what was I going to do with a 48" by 36" tri-fold poster? It was great to see what we all had labored over and also to see how passionate everyone was about their topic. I was thinking back to the Fall when we were first being introduced to IEDP and the things we would be doing throughout the year. I was so anxious just thinking about doing a policy brief and a poster. And now I've done them! Somewhere along the way, we all transitioned to being rather competent grad students who can tackle anything sent our way. Let's hope we all feel this way once we start our internships!

Afterwards, we all went to take a picture at the Love statue on campus. It was a beautiful moment. We all were looking snazzy for our presentations and also feeling the IEDP love of course. I think the thing we will all miss the most is having such supportive, passionate and FANTASTIC people around us. Even today, a few of us organically gathered to have lunch outside and we were just laughing and teasing each other the whole time like old friends. It has only been 8 months, but we have come a long way together and I hope we still have longer to go! Having their support has been invaluable through this program.



What does the last week look like for most of us?

• Finishing up final assignments aka endless hours of typing/editing/reading on the computer.
• Making up any excuse to go outside to enjoy the perfect weather.
• Vaccinations, health checks and paperwork for our internships.
• Buying plane tickets, packing up, and getting organized.
• Enjoying time with each other before we disperse all over the globe.
• A GSE BBQ on Wednesday afternoon aka FREE FOOD.
• One last IEDP gathering on Thursday---many are not staying for commencement or are leaving soon after, so it is the last chance for us to all be together. 
• Celebrating our accomplishments!
• Oh and...a 10 page pre-departure report before we leave for our internships. A good reminder that we are not officially done until after the internship!

Okay, time to rally and edit this 20 page paper! Also--I almost have 3,000 blog hits!! I must reach my goal. Please continue reading to find out how the semester finishes and to help me reach my goal! (I'm so amused that the blog post with the most hits is the one about the library! LOVE IT.)