Finding Your Best Self in Graduate School

I am currently at the halfway point of my second semester in graduate school, and I can confidently say that it has elevated me into a better version of myself. 

One thing that sets graduate school apart from undergraduate studies is how the curriculum, along with its professors, cultivates freedom of thought and requires connecting abstract, complex concepts to real-life application. This has challenged the way I have done school prior. Graduate school--particularly at Fisher--pushes you to be comfortable with the uncomfortable while providing a safe space to be wrong and learn from your mistakes. Furthermore, the courses push you to approach situations in creative ways that transcend the status quo. An example of this was when and a team for a group project presented on the Barbies vs. Kens for our High-Performance Teams course, as pictured in the blog post. 

The task was to utilize leadership and team dynamic models to examine the success and pitfalls of a high vs. low-performing team. My team and I were able to apply complex and abstract ideas regarding culture and team dynamics to a movie we all genuinely enjoyed, Barbie.  Being able to make these connections of models learned in class to tangible reference elevated a transfer of learning in me that I did not know was possible. 

Not only has it altered the way I have viewed intellectual growth, but it has improved my time management skills and pushed me to be able to accomplish what I want to. Graduate school has taught me how to make the most of my time and plan it out accordingly. I would have never thought I would be capable of balancing graduate school full-time, two part-time jobs, going to the gym 5x a week, a social life, a relationship, and time for myself without being burnt out. On top of that, I chose to run for President of the MHRM council and got elected. All in all, Graduate school has pushed me into a better version of myself, and I am excited to see how much I grow throughout this program.