Today is my first official day at Santa Clara University as a graduate student! I was on campus yesterday but mostly getting logistics sorted out: student id card, parking pass, textbooks.Yes, I’m excited to be a student again! I’ve always loved school.
After looking into Master's programs and researching schools, I decided that choosing the right campus for me was a little like choosing a pediatrician for my children.
When it comes to physicians we collectively don't spend much time with doctor visits. So, I never worried much about who delivered my babies or who stitched up my chin after a fall.
But, following any long-distance moves, finding a pediatrician was always a calculated decision. My kid's pediatrician had to be someone whose general philosophy on child rearing concurred with mine.
Any pediatrician who would dole out prescriptions too easily was not for us. I'm not an alarmist so I certainly didn't want a pediatrician who panicked easily. It may seem redundant that our pediatrician needed to like children but you would be surprised. So, our pediatrician had to have a good rapport with me and my kids.
The bottom line, I needed to feel in sync with the pediatrician. It's hard to describe the feeling of being in sync with your kid's doctor but if you’re not in synch with their logic and reasoning on child development, you know it!
Similarly, any graduate school program I enrolled in needed to have a mission statement that I believed in. I've got to feel a rapport with the professors and agree with their philosophy.
Basically, I need to feel in sync with the program. So far, I think Santa Clara University fits the bill. I’ve been impressed with everyone I’ve worked during the admittance process and I’m hopeful that my graduate school experience will be just as great as a few of the pediatricians we’ve had over the years. Namely, some favorites like Dr. Buchta in La Jolla and Dr. Safir in Los Gatos. If my grad school experience is as closely aligned with my life philosophies as these doctors were, I should be in good shape!
