Reflections on Second Semester in Higher Education Master's Program

I am officially on summer break from graduate school. I earned a 4.0 GPA for the winter semester (woo-hoo!). This was a very stressful semester (one of my classes alone assigned nearly 300 pages of reading per week!), but I am thrilled with the progress I have made in the higher education master's program. I also enrolled in a second doctoral course about the sociology of race, ethnicity and immigration. Despite my initial concerns in the first month, I was encouraged to write critical analyses of social theories and apply them to historical and contemporary issues. This course also demonstrated that I have the preparation to apply to doctoral programs in the future. I have learned so much about myself and have a finer grasp of my academic and professional interests. I know that I want to eventually pursue a career in higher education administration and policy. I also like studying social problems and proposing socially-just policy recommendations. Currently, my academic interests are access and equity, diversity in higher education, social justice education, student retention, and community engagement. I am leaning towards pursuing a career in academic and educational affairs (the curricular component in higher education). Meanwhile, I have (less than) four months of freedom to catch up on book reviews, reflect on my own personal development, and pursue my hobbies in this gorgeous warm weather. It is my time to  relax at my own pace. I will resume graduate school in September 2013.