Orientation Day

Last night was orientation for the Graduate School of Special Ed. It started with a tour of the School of Ed building. That was nice, but I already knew where that was. I wanted to know where the bookstore was, and where I could get a locker and lock up my bike in a safe place where it wouldn't get stolen. I got none of that.

I met a woman on the tour who is also in the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Ed program. It was nice to meet someone in my program who I'm going to have a lot of classes with. She took the Human Development course at PSU so she knows her way around a little better than I do. She knows where the bookstore is.

After the tour, we had a powerpoint presentation on the whole licensure process and Master's Degree process. I was alarmed to find out that after two years, I won't have a Master's Degree. I'll be licensed to teach, but I'll be 6-9 credits shy of a Master's Degree. If I did the full time program, I would still have the same problem. This was something I wasn't aware of because I didn't get an advising session before I applied. Everything I learned about the program, I learned from their website.

If I had been privy to this information, I probably wouldn't have been so upset by it when I found out last night. The idea of spending more than 2 years in Portland sickens me. I don't know why. I like it here. I'm making some good friends, but I want to leave ASAP. I also want to cycle the Lewis & Clark Trail as well as the Coast Trail. How on earth will I fit that in?

We had a presentation from the current class on how to deal with the pressure. It was good advice -- relax, socialize, get the stress out, ask questions, copy everything, keep up with your hobbies, etc. blah blah blah. Everyone seemed so smart. Smarter than me.

We met with our cohort after that. Most of the people in my cohort are full time. They all seem interesting. I think it's because I don't know any of them, so of course they are interesting to me. One woman is getting married in December. Now there is one brave woman. It will be interesting to watch.

After orientation, I walked out of the union with the first woman I met. I had no idea where I was. I followed her. She was parked a block away from my bus stop, so we walked together. It was good that we did, because she pointed out that my bus stop is right next to the bookstore. At least one question was answered last night.

I'm not sure how I'm going to handle work while I'm going to school. It will be interesting to see how things go this summer. I think I might want to be just an ed. assistant at the ESD. I don't think it will be as stressful. I probably should have taken that job last year. Oh well, hindsight...