Sunday, May 17, 2015

Your mountain is waiting...

Yesterday was a very hot, humid Penn GSE Commencement in Franklin Field. Eight of the twenty-four IEDP cohort walked in the ceremony and two others who did the program in two years also participated. But, fear not, we were in good company. Many others came out to cheer for us and we made it easy, finding each other at the beginning and all walking one after another.

But let me go back a little bit to the day before when we implemented Operation: Get Dr. GK to Philly. We received an email from her early on Friday, saying that she could not get to Philly for the graduation because the trains were cancelled after the derailment on Tuesday. We have an IEDP whatsapp group and we immediately went into our emergency response mode, discussing ways to get Dr. GK to Philly. A few of us had family driving down from NYC so we all emailed our offers of rides, and of course looked at megabus and other buses to see what was available (which wasn't a lot). She later assured us that she would get to Philly, one way or another! She posted on her Twitter:
"Touched by my amazing 's students' response when I told them I'd miss graduation b/c no trains/buses avail to Philly.  Some even offered to pick me up in the AM & drive me f/ NYC-PHL! (& then drive me back in the PM). They're crazy - in the best poss way"

IEDP 2014-2015 (plus Adam on the right who started in 2013)
Check out those M.S. Ed. hoods! And Andrea's shinny gown.

What were the memorable moments of Commencement and the reception in GSE afterwards? 
  1. Our super-cool long hoods. We all looked like little insects with wings about to come out!
  2. Realizing none of our names were in the program because we didn't apply to graduate for August yet...but a few other cohort members were in there, none of whom were walking in Commencement! Oh the irony!
  3. Baking in the hot sun in black gowns, but with great company!
  4. Walking across the stage, pausing for a picture and seeing Dr. GK in her light-blue Columbia regalia waiting to give us all hugs as we descended the stage. Quite a few of us almost missed her! 
  5. When we opened up our "degree" envelopes and found a "Congratulations, Graduate!" letter saying that we'll receive our degrees in the mail. Woop woop.....
  6. Hearing your professors sing their praises about you to your family during the reception.
  7. Spending a morning and afternoon with all the people who have supported you and been with you through the year.
  8. Really yummy pesto tortellini.
  9. The bittersweet goodbyes that are rushed and don't say all you want to say.
  10. Realizing that almost no one has started their pre-departure report for the internship and that you really are not finished yet! 
 A total of 13 out of 24 of us completed the program in one year. It was grueling at times, especially the rush-busyness of Spring semester, and it required a very intimate relationship with a designated study space (like the 5th floor computer lab in Van Pelt). I am glad that there will be familiar faces when I come for a visit in late October, although it will definitely be different without all of us here.

I leave Philly on Wednesday to run around the northeast before heading to Florida and then to start my internship in Costa Rica. I even have a lead for an apartment there! Fingers crossed!! Am I ready to say goodbye to Philly, Penn, GSE and IEDP? Definitely not. With all the goodbyes, it is hard to catch everyone. They turn into quick waves from the elevator or teary hugs. But, we are all off to our internships: 5 continents, 15 different countries, from Samoa to Guatemala to Rwanda to Hamburg to Tajikistan and Bangkok...We're all off to great places and have many mountains waiting for us. Now the trick is to be living opportunities for others and to take all we have learned this past year and the investments that our professors have so generously put in us, and apply it. And if we hit the waiting place, as in Dr. Seuss's (1990) Oh, the places you'll go!, we know who to reach out to---our fellow IEDP members and professors. Because this really is just another journey we are starting...but with so much more than we had before. We have all the knowledge stamped on our brains (or at least saved on our computers!), all the support from each other moving us forward, and the memories of the great times together stitched in our hearts. So....let's get on our way!


So, with that last message (and the one I put in my first blog post), thank you for reading and sharing the journey. And sorry for all my crazy APA citations and mentions of the library....

Reference: (I seriously have an APA-addiction.)
Seuss. (1990). Oh, the places you'll go!. Random House Books for Young Readers.

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