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 @IEDP_PennGSE'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.

What do IEDPers do on the last cohort gathering of the year? Flashmob, of course.

It's official: Finals are at a close and that means it is time to celebrate and spend time with the people who have really made the experience unforgettable. And what better way to do that than...ANOTHER FLASHMOB?

The idea was hatched during the GSE BBQ on Wednesday afternoon. By that point, most of us had completed all assignments, so we spent the entire afternoon eating free food, adult beverages and hanging out together. During such time, we discussed the next day's last cohort gathering and reminisced over the past year together. Then the question became: who remembered the flashmob dance we did in February? Abby and I set out to see what we remembered, singing the songs as we went. But why stop at just one Flashmob? The different IEDP cohorts seem to end up "leaving their mark" in some way, and we set out to make Flashmobbing our "final takeaway" for Dr. GK.

We started to discuss song ideas right there, and then Shruti (the genius behind the first flashmob) pulled together some songs and with Abby's help, choreographed some simple moves for us to do the next day. Videos were posted by 10:30pm and the next day, we took over GSE 120 to practice (and hang out) before class. We had a large potluck all laid out with amazing food. "Go ahead and start because we have an activity we have to do," Dr. GK said. We all made some excuses, waiting for the last few members of our cohort to join so we could flashmob before indulging in the food. Then suddenly,

 "Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah"

The first song started and we all quickly put our things down and started to dance. Unfortunately, that part was not captured, but perhaps for the best. Dr. GK and Lauren (the program assistant) looked a bit confused and then very entertained once they realized what we were doing. (We even put a Bee Gees song in there because someone had once read a tweet from Dr. GK that professed how much she liked them.) They spent the whole time laughing, especially when we all came together and swayed to "I have had the time of my life, and I owe it all to youuuu."

After, we showed our appreciation for all their work with flowers, chocolate and a very "in-sync" IEDP moment. To the right is our gift to her and to the left is our last activity she made with leaves saying our final takeaways. A few were repeated: Be humble. Context matters. The value of teamwork and friendships. Be a living opportunity (from Dr. Fantuzzo's class)...Many are not walking in the Commencement ceremony next Saturday (only seven of us maybe?), and some have already left Philly, so it was a bittersweet last class together.

IEDP 2014-2015

After, some of us went to get drinks and hang out before we all crashed a friend's final night before leaving. I was actually going to help her pack, but it ended up with 11 people lounging on her bed, sitting on suitcases, chatting and rolling her clothes. What better send-off could you get? We all "awwwwed" when someone said that Dr. GK had posted about us on her twitter and instagram, saying: "I doubt there are many #teachers who have had an experience like this...I have no words to express how this made me feel. For the days when I wonder why I became a #teacher, I will look back and remember this. Thank you, all...I am humbled, tickled, overjoyed, happy, sad, proud all at the same time. (Plus, y'all have set the standards high for the next cohort!) #IEDP #best #students #ever!

Who knew we would have such lovely moments? Dr. GK (and Dr. Fantuzzo for us ED580 Child Development students) told us that we had to trust her that we would learn what we needed to learn and that we would come out of the program and class with a new lens. We had to go through the grueling, stressful, challenging process in order to arrive at such moments. The pregnant moment, καιρός, as Dr. Fantuzzo reminds us, of the past and the future converging to have this one full moment of meaning.

Thankfully, we still have more time together in Philly to enjoy Rice n Spice (aka amazing Indian food) and each other’s company. We still have many moments together, if not here, then around the globe. That is the great thing about being such an international and on-the-move group---there’s always someone to visit and an excuse to take a trip. Someone said last night that we’ll probably end up at some random bar in some random country and just look up and see an IEDPer. We will give them a nod and look of understanding of all that we have been through together, with words being superfluous. Because we are IEDP.