Tag Archives: reflection

GCCAZ, Student Services, student success

Feeling Disgruntled?

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This week was extremely difficult for me.  I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat.  Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home with what I presumed was the flu.  When I returned to work on Thursday, it was to find our office in crisis mode due to a water leak and seven rooms worth of classes needing to be relocated.

I have to admit that I was feeling disgruntled to have such a disruption and abundance of work dropped on me when I myself was just trying to survive the day and not keel over from being sick.  Nobody likes walking into an emergency, especially when they feel like they’re dying inside.  However, as the hours passed and the day was ending I felt a sense of accomplishment.  I was reminded that every day I’m here I’m making a difference in a student’s life.  Whether it’s on the forefront or behind the scenes, we make a difference to students.

When I applied to MCCCD it was because I wanted to be in education, not because I wanted “a job”.  I wanted to help students achieve a sense of fulfillment in obtaining their educational goals.  I may not be in front of them during classes, heck I’m not even in front of them during the registration process, but I know that I’m making a difference in their success.

So I guess my story is for those of you who are feeling “not as motivated” as usual, for those of us who are feeling a little down or disgruntled even.  Just remember that we’re here to make a difference and that everything we do should be done with pride, joy, and self-satisfaction because what we do matters.  It matters to the students who are out there making an effort to better themselves.

 
GCC Students, GCCAZ

The Beauty of GCC

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As this New Year came I found myself needing to make changes and one of those changes was to get out of my chair during the day and walk the campus.  I have found that not only are the walks a good form of physical exercise, but it also has been personally and intellectually stimulating.  If you have ever have the opportunity to explore our campus you will find many lovely little spots. One of my current favorite spots is a mixed bed of flowers that grow in a riot of stunning shades and sizes.

Like the flowers there’s another wonderful spot I enjoy, which is on the main mall.  The other day I took a moment to sit out under the umbrellas and listen for a while.  I soon noticed that as people passed by I could hear several exquisite languages.   I then began to look up and down the mall and I saw all types of beautiful people, from all over the world.  I was filled with an understanding that although our world is in turmoil we of all ages, origins, religions, socioeconomic stratum, etc., can come together and enjoy the “flowers” of this educational institution.

 

 
Administrative Services

I am Too Dumb for Graduate School

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I will never forget my first graduate school class…

Finally, I am in graduate school and going to earn a Master’s Degree. I feel great, I am excited, and I just completed my first post on the discussion board. We are reading a challenging book, “The Archeology of Knowledge”, by Michel Foucault; it is difficult for me to grasp the meaning of the assigned chapter but I work hard and come up with something I feel is insightful and thought provoking. My assignment completed for the day, I head off to bed feeling good about my achievement. The next day, I am anxious as I log on to Blackboard to read my fellow student’s responses and retrieve my instructor’s feedback. In my mind, the rest of my graduate school career hinges on this first assignment – if I can do this, I can accomplish anything! I click on the link to my grades and my world comes crashing down – 4 out of 10 points.

Walking from the room where I do my schoolwork, I pass through the living room and without even a glance at my boyfriend I say, “I am too dumb for graduate school” and continue on to the bedroom to wallow in self-pity and doubt.

I let myself have one night of “giving up” but then I got determined! I am not dumb. I am going to show that professor and that stupid Michel Foucault that I can figure this out (even though I am convinced some of the sentences are just random words strung together with a period at the end). I keep the Spark Notes and my dictionary handy while I read the chapter at least two times and read the professor’s notes before and after reading the chapter. I think the highest I ever scored on discussion points was an 8 but I got an A in the class and proved to everyone (mostly myself) that I am not too dumb for graduate school.

So what’s the take away (other than, I may have overreacted and I’m a little hard on myself)? I can think of several clichés that would be appropriate but cliché or not, from great challenges rise great triumphs.

I still have that book proudly displayed in my home office because I read it and I did an “A” job pretending I understood it!