Welcome to
Name: Nick Longo
Year: First Year Grad Student (University of Alabama)
Major: Ed. S. School Psychology
Career Goal: Advanced Masters Degree in School Psychology, then field work, and ultimately, a Doctorite in School Psychology.
Contact Me!
**************************Email:
AOL IM Screenname:
**************************
Hello Everyone! I am going to attempt to stay on top of this! I hope to keep a weekly journal of my graduate school experiences for those of you at Canisius College whom will be getting ready for grad school in the upcoming semesters! I hope this will help those prospective grad students at Canisius get a better understanding of what to expect. I was bombarded with information as an undergrad, about grad school, however it seems as though I am going into this experience with no idea what to expect. The only substant information that I am taking into my experience is that grad school is 'very different' than undergrad. I hope to expand the way undergrads anticipate grad school through the journaling of my experiences!
Sunday August 13th, 2006
I am finally done unpacking and getting settled here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The area down here is absolutely beautiful! I am not far from Lake Tuscaloosa and I have found the perfect spot on the lake to take my dog, Brady. Oh yeah, for all that do not know, I got a dog this past summer, he is a yellow lab and an awesome dog! Currently it is just Brady and I living in my apartment together. I hope to find a roommate to share expenses with asap! I start classes for my Ed.S. degree in School Psychology on August 24th. I am quite nervous to begin, but also very excited. I keep being told that grad school is so much different than undergraduate. That is one of the main reasons i hope to stay on top of this journal. It will allow see these 'differences' through weekly observations of work load, social interactions, and personal trial/tribulation. Up to this point i have not gotten too much accomplished, or so it seems. I have obtained a parking pass, picked up a student ID, tried to meet with the chair of my department (with no avail, she is on break until next week), I have set up my account through my graduate assistantship, and I have finally figured out housing (though as i mentioned above I am still looking for a roommate!). What I know I am yet to do is as follows; I need to apply for residency of Alabama, I need to get my car insurance changed over to Alabama, I need to get a new drivers license/ license plate, and also I need to pick up my textbooks (but campus is so big that i have no idea where the book store is!). I have an orientation for graduate students on the 23rd, which is optional, however i am going to attend. It should at least allow me to better familiarize with campus! My next entry will follow that orientation (if nothing occurs between now and then that is worth writing about, im sure I will be spending the time making new friends, sitting by my pool, and taking my dog to the lake!)
Thursday August 24th, 2006
I am excited to report that my first class is scheduled for today! Also on my agenda is a meeting with the head of my department to discuss my Graduate Assistantship assignment and a formal orientation directed toward the School Psychology students. As I mentioned in my last entry I attended the orientation for the entire Graduate School student body on campus. It was informative, including a presentation on library resources, a campus tour, a professor panel, and a chance to talk to students who have been in programs at the University. (Unfortunately there were no professors or students present from the School Psychology department on campus.) I found that much of what I was told was similar to what I have expected; be prepared for extensive reading, stay on top (and ahead) of reading assignments, and to be ready to work very hard. There was one piece of information that I was able to retain and add to the puzzle that is the transformation from undergrad to graduate studies. That information was that as a graduate student the professors and the university have created all of these facets of information and opportunity and that it is our responsibility as students to engage in them. This I feel is a very important part to understanding the differences between grad and undergrad. At Canisius I felt as though the professors and University facilitated my growth as a student and taught me the values I needed to become independent. At the Graduate level, I realize that it I must use the tools here at Alabama to facilitate my own growth as a professional. I am going to need to go out and find research opportunties and take a very active role in obtaining mastery of School Psychology. I am very accepting of the challenge that this implies.
I will post another journal today when I finish with my meeting, orientation, and class. I will outline my activities and share the information that I acquire!
Friday August 25th, 2006
To say that I am overwhelmed is an understatement. I have had some time to digest last nights events and feel slightly more comfortable than I had when I was learning my responsibilities and all of the work that needs to be done for the program, my assistantship, and my first class. I am getting ahead of myself; I said that I would outline last nights activities in the entry previous to this one so I guess I will start with that. First I attended my GA (graduate assistant) orientation. Six other GA's and I sat down with six professors all whom would be using our services during the semester ahead. The orientation was broken down into an introduction of the staff and students. After hearing each of the staff explain the projects that they were planning, each student went around and discussed research interests and prior experiences. We will find out Monday whom we are assigned to. I was interested in each of the Professor's research plans, therefore I am not worried about who I get paired with! We then went over our responsibilities as Graduate Assistants. I learned the importance of time management and maintaining rapport with the Professor. During this orientation I realized the great amount of research that was available around the education department at the University. I look forward to getting into many projects other than the one I am assigned to (although I do realize that between my workload and the stress of being a first year graduate student that I will probably need to wait until I am more comfortable before going out and getting involved in other projects). After this orientation ended we were joined by the remainder of our classmates (twelve total) for another orientation. We once again started by introducing ourselves. I learned that among my cohort of students there were people whom already have graduate degrees or experience. Also some students reported being teachers in Alabama school districts. Next we all were to fill out contact forms, so that we would each have the emails of those other students in the program and each professor. We discussed the importance of working together as a program and with many of us coming from different areas, how it will be imperative to build relationships among one another. Next we were given information about the different associations we should join as students, such as Alabama Association of School Psychology, National Association of School Psychology, and the Student Association of School Psychology. Also we will be attending monthly faculty-student meetings and having continuous progress reviews/annual portfolio reviews. Therefore it is important for me to keep my information very organized! To this point I have already been barraged with information and responsibilities but I still had to attend class! So there was a small break and I got ready for my first class of the semester! The class is Social-Behavioral Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making. I have had previous exposure to assessment in undergrad so I was excited to get into something I would have some stepping stones for! My excitement was soon squashed by an eighteen page syllabus. Here is where I have found the first difference between undergraduate and graduate I would like to discuss for those preparing for grad school. As we went over the syllabus I learned that the expectations are extremely high for students here at the graduate level. Be prepared to expect these high expectations! As a student you can not hope to be able to take even one part of your classes lightly. Ok, now back to the class. It seems we are going to learn some really interesting measures. I am excited to learn to administer and score tests, i am not so excited to learn laws and ethics. I do not enjoy reading law, it seems to constantly wrap itself in circles, but I do understand how important it is for School Psychology. Therefore I am going to challenge myself to not only comprehend the law but also enjoy it. One thing I know I will enjoy is the field work associated with this class (I am hoping each class has this aspect). We are expected to find volunteers to practice certain measures on during the course of the semester and also expected to visit a clinic for autistic children and a classroom.
SO, all of this and information and responsibilities and I still have three classes to attend next week. Looks like I need to get started on my reading because if there is one thing I KNOW now it is that I need to stay on top and AHEAD of all of my reading. Hopefully This will allow other students going into their first classes something to expect and maybe they will not feel as overwhelmed as I do right now!
September 6th, 2006
To this point I have completed two weeks of class. Now that I have had the oppurtunity to attend each class and get a feel for the amount of work, I believe it is safe to say that the term 'free time' does not exist in graduate school. My program here at UA has many field experience requirements as well as classroom assignments. Some assignments are similiar to the upper level work in undergraduate, however the amount of reading that must be done to prepare for each class is much greater than undergraduate. As I learn new time management techniques, I am slowly becoming more comfortable with the work load. Developing rythem and organization is essential to stay on top of heavy reading assignments. It was difficult at first to get used to consistant reading, but scheduling out each and every day allowed me to get the most out of each day. I have also had some time to become better aquinted with my responsibilities for my graduate assistanship. I am currently working with Dr. Harrison, the head of the School Psychology department here at UA. My first task is to help Dr. Harrison with a project for NASP. She is currently the Chair of the NASP program approval board. On top of these responsiblities, I hope to also seek out some other research oppurtunities as the semester continues.
AlumniPages
