Preparations

When I was accepted to the master's program in Public Relations at the University of Maryland in February 2008, the starting date seemed so far off. A few weeks after learning of my acceptance into the program, I was awarded a travel fellowship which allowed me to travel around the world for nearly a year (www.vanderbilt.edu/travelfellowship/stephanie). Preparations for my around the world adventure pervaded by thoughts, so graduate school seemed like such a distant endeavor. Now, I'm only weeks away from starting and there seems like there is so much to do! First of all, I have to move to Maryland. Right now I'm in the process of packing up what I can take of my life to live in my new house in Hyattsville, MD with my two new roommates, Beth and Sean. I had the opportunity to go see my new place and the room I'll be renting in Beth's house, and I'm really excited to be living there! The whole situation seems pretty ideal for me, close to campus in a cozy home. What more could you want? Now, I'm in the process of packing for the big move that starts on Monday! Our estimated time of arrival in Hyattsville is next Wednesday afternoon. It's so soon!

Another big preparation for me right now is getting ready for the course I will be teaching. That's right, I'm teaching! I'll be responsible for 2 sections of the course, Communication 107. This course is an introduction to communication, covering intrapersonal, interpersonal, and public communication. I'm not assisting a professor...I'm responsible for the entire course. I never realized how much work goes into preparing for a class, and I feel added pressure to be good at teaching a course about how to be good communicators. This whole thing will be as much as a learning experience for me as it is my students. In addition to teaching the course, I'll also be taking 7 credit hours of class. It's all going to take some adjusting to, but I'm excited to be going back to school!