Capstone Portfolio Journal - Module Four Reflections:
"If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it,
then what you are undergoes a transformation."
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
then what you are undergoes a transformation."
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
June 7, 2021 - June 13, 2021
For this week’s module, we had to do our first big essay reflective piece: the goal reflection. This is an essay about the goals I had for my master’s program when I first began. Wow was this a throwback and reliving some uncomfortable memories.
Luckily I keep of my MSU materials which includes my original application essay. Funny story is that I had accidentally written two long essays (I think at the time I was looking at a different program’s paper requirements) when I had only needed to do a “professional goal statement”. I submitted the second long paper as an optional supplemental as I still felt like it told an important story of who I was and my life story at the time. I won’t go into the nitty gritty details (feel free to read my goal essay if you wish!), but my goals from then versus now are completely night and day.
I don’t mean this lightly that my time with this program has been transformational. As I learned the deeper history behind this nation’s education system, I have been drawn into the issues and research today that are dominating higher education in general. It has been especially timely as we have (and still are) going through a global pandemic and a new chapter in social justice uprisings such as Black Lives Matter, the rise in AAPI hate crimes, and more. It feels somewhat surreal to be going through a big social experiment of sorts living through this time and seeing how the education and systems that support our education are actively getting reshaped.
It has been fascinating to observe how the educational leaders in my university have been responding to the challenges daily. I reflect on these musings this week in relation to my new changed goals to get more involved in higher education leadership in some capacity.
For this week’s module, we had to do our first big essay reflective piece: the goal reflection. This is an essay about the goals I had for my master’s program when I first began. Wow was this a throwback and reliving some uncomfortable memories.
Luckily I keep of my MSU materials which includes my original application essay. Funny story is that I had accidentally written two long essays (I think at the time I was looking at a different program’s paper requirements) when I had only needed to do a “professional goal statement”. I submitted the second long paper as an optional supplemental as I still felt like it told an important story of who I was and my life story at the time. I won’t go into the nitty gritty details (feel free to read my goal essay if you wish!), but my goals from then versus now are completely night and day.
I don’t mean this lightly that my time with this program has been transformational. As I learned the deeper history behind this nation’s education system, I have been drawn into the issues and research today that are dominating higher education in general. It has been especially timely as we have (and still are) going through a global pandemic and a new chapter in social justice uprisings such as Black Lives Matter, the rise in AAPI hate crimes, and more. It feels somewhat surreal to be going through a big social experiment of sorts living through this time and seeing how the education and systems that support our education are actively getting reshaped.
It has been fascinating to observe how the educational leaders in my university have been responding to the challenges daily. I reflect on these musings this week in relation to my new changed goals to get more involved in higher education leadership in some capacity.
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©2021 by Tracy Liu
©2021 by Tracy Liu