Just call me a Master!

I am happy to announce that about a week ago, I received my Master of Arts degree in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute. The degree has been a long time coming and it feels great to finally have the degree under my belt.

Rachel and I before graduation.

Upon returning from my trip around Ireland, I was home for one week before heading off to Vermont, where SIT Graduate Institute is located, for capstone week and graduation. I spent the week at home unpacking, repacking, trying to get over my jet lag, and preparing for my capstone presentation. A capstone project is a graduation requirement of all SIT students so for my capstone, I created a week-long cultural exchange program that Mexican students to a small college in Iowa (you can read about my capstone here). In order to graduate, I had to give a 75-minute presentation explaining the cultural exchange program I created.

Being back on SIT’s campus was a-mazing. It was great to see friends and also make some new SIT connections. My capstone presentation went off without a hitch and I enjoyed seeing my friends’ presentations as well. At the end of the week, it was on to graduation where my friends and I were hooded and officially named Masters! Yeah for finally being done!

Allie, Ilse and Krysta before graduation. 

Some of my floormates. Go IC2!

My fellow Semester at Sea/SIT staff members.

Dean Daniel Yalowitz opening the graduation ceremony.

Student elected speaker Manato Kaisho.

Foundations Team WISSK: Me, Ilse, Steph, Sara and Krysta.

One of my most favorite views in the whole world.
This was the view from my dorm window when I lived on campus.

Catching up

It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month since I've written on this blog and it’s been a busy few weeks. Allow me to use this post, as well as the following few posts, to get caught up. Here’s what I've been up to since my last update in April:

Graduation!

On May 2, I disembarked the M.V. Explorer in Southampton, England, and ended the spring 2014 voyage. It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month already since the voyage ended.

Following disembarkation, I spent one week in London. I studied abroad in London in 2007 and since it had been 7 years since I’d been back to London, I spent the week going to all my favorite places including museums, parks, and shopping areas.

I then trained/ferried to Dublin to meet my sister and two friends for a week-long trip around Ireland. It was so nice to see some familiar faces after being in London for a week by myself. In addition, Ireland is beautiful and we had a great time exploring the countryside.

I came home from Ireland and went right into graduation-mode. I spent a few days preparing for my capstone presentation and also unpacking and repacking my suitcase. It was then off to Vermont for a week where I successfully presented my capstone and graduated this past weekend. Yeah for being done with my Master’s degree!

See what I mean about a crazy couple of weeks?! I've been busy!

Over the next few days, I will write more about my time in London and Ireland and may even include a post about graduation. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!