Graduation is in 2 week and 2 days...what?!

One of my friends from my cohort, Susan, posted the following status on Facebook a few days ago, and I thought it was very indicative of what we're all experiencing right now:  "All of my work to finish grad school is due on or before May 9th. May 9th is now in the 10 day weather forecast. This causes me to have a lot of feelings."

I have two final papers left to write; each about 15-20 pages, which is certainly scary.  I also spend my study breaks and free time applying for jobs and checking my email to see if I've heard back from said jobs, so my life has been less than exciting these past few weeks.  In the spirit of looking ahead to the three weeks I will spend in Philly post-finals, I've come up with a "Bucket List" of things I still want to do before I leave.  This is similar to my last post, which focused on places I want to go.  Again, I plan to come back to Philly, but it all depends on what the Higher Education employment gods have in store for me ;)

1)  Walk around Penn's campus on a sunny day and take pictures.  It's so beautiful, and there are plenty of areas I haven't explored yet!
2)  Go swimming at the Pottruck Fitness Center.
3)  Climb the rock wall at Pottruck.
4)  Go to Federal Donuts (it's a place that serves donuts and fried chicken, they just opened one near campus, and everyone is talking about how delicious it is).
5)  Go to happy hour at Pod and Doc Magrogan's (these are more expensive restaurants near Penn's campus, but apparently they have really great happy hour menus).
6)  Go for a run on Kelly Drive.  Or maybe a walk.  Probably a walk.
7)  Explore the Italian Market area in South Philly.
8)  Go to one of the museums that offers a student discount before my ID expires.
9)  Go to a Phillies game (the only one I've been to was during 100+ degree weather a few years ago, so that was not fun).
10)  Go back to the Philadelphia zoo!

Things I want to do before my lease ends

At first I was going to make the title of this post "Things I want to do before I leave Philadelphia," but that is something I really don't want to do (leave Philly, that is).  I have a job interview for a position at a school in Philly on Thursday, so I'm trying to remain optimistic about that!  I'm really interested in this position and I hope everything goes well.  I've only interviewed for a handful of jobs before, only one of them being a professional position.  I ended up getting hired, which is why I don't have a lot of interview experience.  And the last thing I want to do during the next few months is become a professional interviewer!

Anyway, I realized that I really need to make the most of the next 5 weeks since they could be the last I have in Philadelphia.  Although this might seem like the most random list of activities that ever existed, I decided to share it for those of you who are currently in Philly or planning to move here at some point!

1)  Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival:  May 3rd, 2014, 18th Street and Walnut Street
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/rittenhouse-row-spring-festival/

I'm probably displaying some extreme wishful thinking as I look into attending this since it's right before my final exams are due, but it could be a fun way to get out of the apartment for a few hours!  Rittenhouse is a really nice area of Philadelphia, and this spring festival includes food, fashion, arts, and entertainment.  I love all of those things, and in that exact order.

2)  Flavors of the Avenue:  April 26th, 2014, Passyunk
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/flavors-of-the-avenue/ 

I've actually never been to Passyunk, which is a neighborhood slightly outside of Philadelphia.  This event includes samples from 28 restaurants in the neighborhood.  Admission to the food tent is $30, but I'm assuming that includes unlimited samples.  It reminds me of going to the sample booths at Costco and SAM's Club and BJ's all in one Saturday, which is very appealing.  Plus the food is probably better since it's from local restaurants and breweries.

3)  Spring Blooms at Longwood Gardens:  April 5th-April 23rd, Kennett Square, PA
http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/spring-blooms-at-longwood-gardens/

It looks like this specific event ends tomorrow, but Longwood Gardens in general is beautiful.  I went in the winter to see the Christmas lights, but I'm sure it's even more enjoyable in the spring.  It's about a 50-minute drive from Philadelphia and it's very peaceful.  Just make sure you bring your allergy medicine!  Seasonal allergies are the only downside of spring.

4)  BRUNCH!:  Weekend mornings, everywhere
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/best-brunch-spots-in-philadelphia

I've been to some of these places, although not necessarily for brunch, and I'm getting hungry just reading about their menus.  Brunch is the best meal of the weekend, and it tends to be even better when you can sit outside.  And it's a much better reason to wake up early on the weekends than having to write papers and study.

5)  Rooftop Happy Hour(s):  After 5 PM on weekdays, rooftops
http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-rooftop-bars-in-philadelphia/

I usually choose happy hour locations for the food and not the drink, but the opportunity to sit on a rooftop and chat with friends outdoors is even better.  I'd recommend looking at the menus at these places and choosing accordingly! 

I also just realized that all of these activities involve being outdoors.  So, fingers crossed that we do not have a rainy spring!

Weekend trip to Washington, D.C.

It seems like spring has finally come to Philadelphia.  Today it is sunny and temperatures are in the mid-60s!  This is a drastic change from the single-digit temperatures that we experienced this past winter.  Despite the stress of upcoming final exams and job applications, the pleasant weather has put me in a great mood today.  

First of all, I just wanted to remind you all that our last Web Chat of the semester will be taking place tomorrow (Friday, April 11th) from 7-8PM EST.  Whether you're still deciding to enroll at Penn for the upcoming year or are just looking to learn more about GSE, I highly recommend that you attend.  Myself and many of our other graduate assistants will be online to chat with you, as well as our Associate Director of Admissions and Financial aid.  Just use this link to RSVP: 
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#online

This past weekend I took a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit one of my best friends from college who lives and works there.  Our other best friend who is in med school in New Jersey was there with us as well.  It was so nice to see them--we only see each other a few times a year, but we always have a lot of fun when we reunite.  It was also the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. and there was a lot going on.  I took a bunch of pictures, so I'll use those to illustrate the rest of my post!

On Saturday morning we went to an area of D.C. called Eastern Market.  There were a ton of vendors selling clothing, handmade jewelry and soaps, purses, and fresh fruit and veggies.

This is the Smithsonian Castle, the main building on the Washington Mall, which is where most of the Smithsonian museums are.  I've been to most of the museums before, but it was still great to walk around and see the beginnings of some of the cherry blossoms.

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I really like this picture!  I took it just as the sun was setting.  My friend said that Washington D.C. has some of the prettiest sunsets she's ever seen. 

After dinner we went to watch fireworks over the Potomac River.  This was also in honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was difficult to take pictures of the fireworks with my phone, but they were so beautiful in person.

During the day, we explored an area behind the Smithsonian Castle called Moongate Garden.  There were a lot of dogwood trees in bloom, as well as a pond and some sculptures.  This picture is of myself (left) and my friends Vicki and Grace.

This weekend was the first of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Washington, D.C. has cherry trees planted all around the Washington Mall area, and they have festivities every spring when the trees bloom.  Only one of the trees had bloomed when we were there, so we took a ton of pictures with it.  Apparently the trees are in full bloom now though.  You can actually monitor them with this link: Cherry Blossom Web Cam

Finally, this is us in front of the Washington Monument!  It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to see them again.  They're hopefully going to come to Philadelphia to visit me in a few weeks.

It's already April?!

Happy Thursday!  I've heard so many people say this over the past few days, but seriously, how is it already April?  Being in a one-year Master's program makes the semesters fly by extra quickly (although it doesn't always feel that way around finals time).  GSE's graduation is on May 17th, so we have about a month and a half left.  I really want to stay in Philadelphia for a job, but that all depends on how fruitful my job search is.  My apartment lease ends on May 31st, and my parents live in New Jersey, so I'll likely have to go home for a few weeks in between.  Right now all I can do is send out as many job applications as possible and hope for the best!

This past week we had the Preview Days for accepted Master's students in all of GSE, as well as one that was specifically for the Higher Ed program.  This year I attended both, but I planned the GSE-wide Preview Day that was held on Friday, 3/28.  We were very excited that so many people attended the event, many of whom are coming to GSE next year!  I also went to some of the events during the Higher Ed Preview Days, since I remember attending these last year as a prospective student.  I flew in from Miami for this weekend last year.  I highly recommend attending since seeing Penn's campus and meeting current students and faculty made me even more sure that I wanted to be at GSE.

This weekend I'm going to Washington D.C. to spend time with my two best friends from college.  I'm really excited!  I haven't seen either of them in a while, and it will be fun to explore D.C. together.  I'll post some pictures once I get back =)

Busy season

Hi everyone!  Right now we are at the peak of Admissions season for the spring semester.  That means that acceptance letters are going out and we are hosting events for both prospective and accepted students.  Our events take place on-campus, off-campus, and online.  A full list of our upcoming Admissions events can be viewed here. 

This past Saturday we had an Open House for anyone interested in Penn GSE, both now and in the future.  Since my graduate assistantship focuses on events, I worked very closely with this project.  Even though it was stressful to plan at times, the event was successful and I really enjoyed meeting prospective students.  We had presentations from GSE Dean Andy Porter, program managers, faculty, students, Student Financial Services, Admissions and Financial Aid, and campus resources.  I'll post more tomorrow about this event and others!

Spring break countdown

Spring break starts tomorrow, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really excited to have a few days off.  I don't have any plans to go somewhere warm and tropical; the most adventurous thing I'm doing during break is going outlet shopping in Atlantic City with my mom.  I haven't been home all semester since work and my comps exam took up most weekends, so I've missed my family a lot!

These past few weeks have been filled with coursework, applying for jobs, and trying to make the most of the time I have left at Penn.  I'm hoping to stay in the area after graduating (maybe even at Penn, if I'm lucky enough to find a position here), but I know that being a student and being a working professional are very different lifestyles.  I worked for a year in between college and enrolling at Penn, and while I miss receiving a salary, I'm really going to miss taking classes.  I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to be in school, which is one of the benefits of working in higher education.  You're constantly part of a community of people who consider themselves lifelong learners (plus, a lot of institutions offer tuition benefits for employees).

I'm going to wrap this up since I have a lot of work to do around the office before leaving for break (I'm planning two major events for the end of March--our Open House on 3/22, and our Admitted Master's Student Preview Day on 3/28).  Both will be a lot of fun, so check them out on our website if you have a chance!
https://www.gse.upenn.edu/rsvp

Advice for the job search

Before I begin this post, I want to clarify that I did not come up with these bits of advice myself; rather, this is a collection of words of wisdom that I have received from professors/mentors/coworkers over the past few months.  Recording these tips here is just as beneficial for me as it is for potential readers =)

1)  Start early.
Although we do not graduate until May, nearly everyone I've spoken to about careers in higher education emphasizes that beginning one's search early is the key to securing a job not too long after graduation.  To avoid confusion, I have been stating in the beginning of my cover letter that I will not be available to start working until late May.  However, a common start date for jobs in higher education is July 1st, the start of the new fiscal year.

2)  Be flexible.
One mentor told me that for your first job after graduate school, "You can choose the location, or you can choose the exact type of job, but it's difficult to choose both."  Given my experience and current education level, I think it's important to just get some professional experience at this point.  I really want to stay in the Philadelphia area though, so I've been seeking out specific schools and looking at jobs in both admissions and event-coordination.

3)  Don't be afraid to negotiate a salary.
One of my professors talked to us about this earlier today.  She said that the concept of negotiating a salary may seem taboo, even though many jobs provide a salary range rather than a set dollar amount.  My professor encouraged us to leverage our skills and education to try to negotiate the best possible situation.  A classmate who works in the Career Services office at Penn added that referencing data about average starting salaries in a certain field is also helpful.  

4)  Networking is key.
Another professor shared with my class that 80% of today's hires are a result of some form of networking.  Especially for recent graduates, networking seems very intimidating.  I enjoy talking with people, but navigating how to work in the fact that you are looking for a job can be difficult.  One thing that I have realized is that networking does not have to be akin to "schmoozing"; it can just be mentioning that you are on the job market and maybe contacting the person a few weeks later to ask about potential openings at their institution/department.  

I hope these tips are helpful!  I'll add some more as I receive/think of them.  Have a great week, everyone!