It's Thanksgiving Time!

It’s Thanksgiving Week Gobble Gobble! This Thanksgiving I had the privilege of riding on an airplane for the first time by myself! Yay! To be honest, I was a little nervous at first just because I am used to the idea of having someone to travel with but I all went well overall. I must say the little three year old girl who sat behind me and sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” “A, B, C” and “ Happy Birthday” multiple times made the trip interesting as well. Once we arrived in Fort Lauderdale I was welcomed with 82-degree weather which compared to the low 50’s in Philadelphia, was amazing!

Although Thanksgiving is meant for sharing a special time with the ones you love over a plate of delicious food, my Thanksgiving was slightly bittersweet. Why? After, the culmination of Thanksgiving there is only TWO WEEKS of fall semester classes remaining, which means final exams and final papers will be due. Currently, I am working on a final paper as we speak! As graduate student, I currently have two 20-page papers to write as well as preparing for two in class exams. Did bring my notes to study for these exams? Yes. Have I started? No. Unfortunately, I have not begun my work. It’s seems like schoolwork and family fun are not synonymous.


However, I do believe that every graduate student should find methods to relax. Since arriving at home, I have had the time to rejuvenate myself with those I love the most. Some of my friends did not have the opportunity to travel to their hometown but they did spend time with nearby friends from Penn. However you choose to celebrate the holidays, whether with friends, family, or you and a pet goldfish, make a decision to enjoy yourself.

Selfie Love

As you all may or may not know the Penn Graduate School of Education will have a new Dean this upcoming December. To celebrate her arrival to the school, she came to Penn on Thursday to take pictures around campus. One of the awesome parts about being a Graduate Assistant is that you are able to find out wonderful perks so guess who got to take pictures with the Dean? I did. Although there were other Graduate Assistant present in the pictures, I was so grateful to be able to be one of the first students to take a picture.

Prior to taking pictures with Pam, myself and three of the other Graduate Assistants also took pictures in the form of selfies. I have found that selfies allow you the benefit of remembering moments with those you care about and also allows you to participate in the shared memory because you are a part of the photo. Our photo is provided below. Don't we look amazing? Every time I look at that picture I start singing "We are family get up everybody and sing!" by Sister Sledge.

After taking group photos with Pam, I decided to ask a very important question to her. " Do you mind taking a selfie with us?" Ironically Pam agreed and she was very enthusiastic about it. As an amateur selfie photographer I took the same photo about 3 times but in the end we got the perfect shot. Below you will see a picture of Amanda, Felix, Alex, Zakiya, Pam (the new Dean), and I. After, hearing Pam agree to take a selfie with my I am now on a quest to document my time her in Philly and at Penn GSE through the process of taking selfies. I am very excited and I look forward to sharing my selfies with you in the future.

Fall is Here!

Hello everyone,
I am so glad you could join me on another journey. Currently, I have the experience to see not only the weather changes regarding the new season but also how nature changes. As a Floridian, I am familiar with seeing palm trees year around. Often times the sign that fall. Overall, when leaves died the leaves changed from green directly to brown. However, in Philadelphia the hues of leaves varied widely and it is by far, gorgeous! I have never seen a tree entirely covered by red or yellow leaves and to me; I was amazed.

One of the best places to view this beautiful display is near the grassy areas in front of Van Pelt Library. The lawn is not only a great place to sit down and relax with friends or complete homework assignments but also has a wide array of trees that change colors. As noted in one of my previous posts I enjoy being outdoors. Likewise with this opportunity to bask in the audience of nature’s beauty could not be missed. As I laid area, it was not uncommon to see someone in a business suit collecting leaves off of the floor or students take group pictures next to the trees. In fact I took a few photos of the trees and have placed them below. Although, the pictures are beautiful, they do not compare to seeing them in person. With the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, I would even like to collect a few leaves to show some of my friends and family who have not been in the northern states before.

Sidenote: In one of the trees along Locust Walk you will also find a Penn GSE Celebrating 100 years banner! It was exciting to see my school be celebrated by the entire Penn Community and I am grateful to share this 100 year anniversary with them.

It's Time to Register for Spring Classes

Hello My wonderful viewers.



Well it's that time again. I must consider my next semester of classes and fast. Since this semester began I have enjoyed a number of my classes and found the information so useful when considering education policy. My current class schedule includes Applied Research Methods to Inform Policy, Evolution of Assessment, American Education Reform, and Introduction to Statistics. Specifically, my Applied Research Methods to Inform Policy course and Introduction to Statistics course reinforced some very important themes that are addressed in education research. For instance working with the null and alternative hypothesis and running regressions. So for those interested in the quantitative aspect of education policy, I definitely recommend pairing these classes. The Evolution to Assessment course has also given me a more in depth understanding of how testing (formative, summative, interim, etc.) and accountability systems play such an increment role in the education of students K-12 and the educational system as a whole. As future policy analyst I really wanted to understanding the premise behind testing taking and the high stakes associated with it.For those of you interested in this field, this curse provides a great balance between informative articles, group activities/discussions, and lectures. If you are not as familiar with the history of education or just want a refresher the n the American Education Reform class does just that. We have read books such as Dianne Ravitich's book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," which provided insight on the multiple perspectives surrounding the U.S. school system.

Anyhow, back to the main topic of interest... Spring Semester. Currently, I am unsure of which classes I will take for the spring semester because there are so many that meet my interests. This is my goal; Audit all of the courses I am interested in taking my first week of Spring Semester and then decide on which ones I will keep. Sounds easy bu since I am required to take a certain number of education policy specific courses and electives I have to find the perfect balance. I will keep you updated on this progress.