Upon starting graduate school, I immediately selected the non-thesis option which meant I would have to create a portfolio. The creation of a portfolio for me would be a more appropriate gauge for educational growth throughout graduate school. For me, the process of completing a professional portfolio would make me return to all my prior work and filter through what I have completed to date.
What have I learned about myself?
I have learned that when given the opportunity, I can grow in my understanding of child development. I have learned that I am a very knowledgeable person that has a wealth of information I can share with others and apply in my everyday tasks. I have learned that my level of confidence in standing before an audience and speaking has increased and I know feel comfortable and even excited about the idea.
Not everything I have learned about myself comes into the educational realm. Throughout my graduate experience, I learned some more personal things about myself. I learned that I have a physical limit to which I can push myself and still remain productive. This was very obvious in my level of work in the beginning of graduate school verses the end of graduate school. I learned that I must prioritize my life and determine what needs to come first. Finally realizing that my education was going to get me further in the long run than a job that was going nowhere, I decided to focus all my time and attention on school. After making this decision, I was able to see a vast improvement in the quality of work I was able to produce.
Through the portfolio process I have learned more about who I have become, what I want to do, and where I want to go. I have learned what interests me and what I need to make and honest effort to learn more about. I have learned that the goals I have for myself need to remain just as important as the goals other have for me. I have learned that I am able to create a product of professional level that benefits others.
My Graduate Experience.
Graduate school has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had thus far. The people I have met and the things I have learned from them are priceless. Was sitting in a classroom beneficial? Of course, to a point, but the classmates in those classes provided me with so much knowledge. I met people who have years of work experience, people with families, and people with life struggles that they must overcome and work around. My first graduate class was a bit intimidating. I felt as though I was the baby of the class. Many of my fellow classmates were a few years older than me. I, at first, doubted my abilities in setting my own standards as high as they had set their own standards. I quickly learned that my age was going to be a benefit, not only to me, but as well as my classmates. I would learn that I could provide a point of view that they themselves had long since forgotten. Not to say my classmates lacked knowledge, they simply had moved their knowledge to other aspects of their lives. I could never express enough thanks to my classmates for opening my eyes to the strengths I provided to discussions and assignments.
Graduate school has also allowed me the opportunity to meet new professors and to get to know others better. Early in graduate school one class and professor tested my drive to complete the program. A high level of doubt was put in my mind that I was not smart enough to complete the program, but another professor that same semester reassured me that I was able to finish what I had sought out to do. There was not a face-to-face conversation between that professor and myself, but rather it was her enthusiasm in class and excitement in my success that made me realize I could do this. I am forever grateful to her!
Where do I go from here?
Where my education will take me in the future is as unclear as my entire future. We never really know where we are going or what we are meant to do. I do know, however, that my education and experiences will take me places I would not be able to go without it. I have made friends that will forever be a part of my life. I have formed networks that will provide me with channels of information and a pathway to potential jobs.
With the completion of my portfolio I am finishing my graduate program. With the completion of my graduate program, I am closing the book on a chapter of my life, but where one chapter ends, another begins. The chapter of education has helped to write the chapter of my future. My future is a chapter I am very excited to read.
Regardless where I go from here and what I ultimately end up doing with my education, the life’s lessons that have been learned will take me further than anything else. I thank my experiences while a student at Texas Woman’s University, for both undergraduate and graduate work, for the lessons learned. I would like to thank all the professors and staff that have guided me along the way, without each and every one of them I would not be where I am today.