Paper Approved!!

Once upon a time, in the year of 2006 I started to pursue my masters degree in International Education through the SIT Graduate Institute www.sit.edu. Although many of my classmates have gone on to graduate before me, I am proud to say that today, one a half years and 70 pages later, my final capstone has been APPROVED!! I still need to go to Vermont the first week of February to present it formally before getting my masters, but now that my portfolio is approved, I can just enjoy the rest!!

I was so upset with myself and SIT when I did not get the necessary help or approval to be able to attend in November, but I have to say that having another couple months to put more time and thought into my paper has made me feel much prouder of my work. I am looking forward to sharing it with anyone who's interested. It is entitled: Recruiting with Purpose: A proposal to bring Latin American students to Saint Martin's University. I focus on how we might be able to attract Latin American students to Saint Martin's ESL program through a variety of tactics.

I chose this focus because of several reasons- one is that I hope to possibly become the director of an international office someday and recruiting is one of the areas I had no experience in, so I wanted to learn more about it. Also, I have personal reasons for wanting to make connections in Latin America, especially in Mexico. I have long hoped to be able to create educational exchange relationships with some schools near to Juan Carlos's hometown in Palma Grande, Nayarit, so that if we decide to move down there for a short time or need to live down there in the future I have some connections for work.

So, now the plan is in place and I just need to carry it out and put it into practice over the next couple years. Of course, in a time of great joy, I have to thank Juan Carlos for giving me much needed time to work on this, Haley, my good friend who has helped to give me ideas and edit my work and my parents and sisters, who have given me the love and support I need to persevere and finally complete my masters degree. It has not been easy, amidst getting married and having to face lots of personal challenges, hold down a full time job (and sometimes more than one) and find the time and energy to put the necessary work into this project, but with God's help, I've finally done it!!

Now, it's off to Vermont in February and hopefully, a celebration (in a new house???) afterwards to celebrate!! I'll keep you posted!