Changes: This is a Practical Kind of Love
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A Proof of Nerd ID by Emily Farrell
What’s the difference between going to college and grad school? Definitely not lipstick.
Smith College
My undergraduate education at Smith College (Massachusetts) was a love affair. From the academics, to studying abroad in Paris, to the dorms, to Northampton, to the people—it was everything I dreamed of and all I could have hoped for in a college. I delighted in my double major—art history and French—and wasn’t too concerned about what kind of job I might get after graduation. I know I received the best possible education at Smith and that the school was a perfect fit for me. I remain a passionate supporter of the college, am active in my local alumnae club, and am eagerly looking forward to my 10-year reunion next spring.
Last month, nine years after I took my last final and proudly received my diploma from Smith, I started graduate school. This time around it is more like an arranged marriage, one that both party’s agree to and went into with an open mind. I had had my love affair at Smith and, after graduation, flirted globally while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. So now it was a calculated move that led me to begin pursuing a master’s in public administration at University of Colorado, Denver.
University of Colorado at Denver
My husband and I have been living in Colorado for almost two-and-a-half years—with friends, jobs, and a sense of home here. I didn’t want to uproot us both for my master’s degree, only to move again after graduation. The program at UCD would give me the degree I wanted, while allowing us to keep our life and home and my husband’s work intact.
I’ve been working for the federal government for the last six years in the Peace Corps recruiting offices in Los Angeles and Denver. My time there was ended by contract limits and as I had been job hunting over the last year I realized the ones that interested me—and paid well—were looking for candidates with a public administration degree. (For people not familiar with the degree, think of it as an MBA geared towards the public and non-profit sectors). I am interested in staying in government and also in working overseas—the public administration degree seems a practical, skill-oriented degree that will give me the best career options.
I’m now three weeks into the program and know that while I may never feel the same love connection I have to Smith, I am pleased with the classes I am taking and the degree I am pursuing. Just as Smith was the right place for me in 1995, UCD is the right place for me right now. It is a perfectly acceptable arranged marriage, and we are both content.
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Emily, totally love the relationship metaphor. I adored Smith, but I only truly appreciate Carnegie Mellon, and look at my time there more as something I survived, rather than a great love affair. You never forget your first (college) love.
You know I agree there was a very real difference between Smith and Carnegie Mellon (where I got my MS in Public Policy). Love affair versus arranged marriage…..interesting. I’m not sure that is how I’d desribe it. But Smith was something that I love and cherish. A place full of wonderful memories and life changing experiences. The place where I met my bestfriend and my wonderful husband (and father of my beautiful son). The place where I found myself
Carnegie Mellon is where I learned the skills that I employ daily on the job. The skills that have made me extremely successful. Carnegie Mellon was very practical.
I guess the main difference for me is that I love Smith, but I appreciate Carnegie Mellon.
You know I agree there was a very real difference between Smith and Carnegie Mellon (where I got my MS in Public Policy). Love affair versus arranged marriage…..interesting. I’m not sure that is how I’d desribe it. But Smith was something that I love and cherish. A place full of wonderful memories and life changing experiences. The place where I met my bestfriend and my wonderful husband (and father of my beautiful son). The place where I found myself
Carnegie Mellon is where I learned the skills that I employ daily on the job. The skills that have made me extremely successful. Carnegie Mellon was very practical.
I guess the main difference for me is that I love Smith, but I appreciate Carnegie Mellon.