Walking Down a Different Road

So I've finally quit twiddling my thumbs and hoping my wishes come true and silently pleading for something to happen. I've taken a step, a definite, resounding step, in a direction I know I want to go in. I'm interning now with John to learn all about education abroad. Well, probably not "all about", I do only have a semester after all. But still, it feels good to start something that gives me hope that I'll enjoy life after graduation.

Not quite sure how I'll break it to my parents yet that I'm not exactly actively pursuing the career they spent so much money to help me learn, but I can take a certain amount of solace in the knowledge that it's not really a complete waste. In fact, calling it a minor waste may even be going to far. The more I talk with John and Kip and get a chance to take off my rosy colored glasses and get a real view of the beast that is international admissions and exchange, the more I realize that you very nearly have to BE a journalist if you want your program to thrive.

I have to research where in the market things are heating up, what fields are a hotbed for the program I'm sending students abroad in. I have to know how to col call people and interview them, make partnerships. I have to understand how to sell my bran, how to promote it, how to put the word out. Maybe Strategic Communications would have been more useful, but at least with convergence I know how to present all these things in a fashion that might be more useful in the near future.

At least, I'm telling myself all this is useful. If I'm being honest, I haven't actually done much yet in the way of learning. Aside from getting a feel for what I'm about to undertake. I have been keeping my ears open, something I habitually do because of my major, and I'm getting a feel for the flavor of what this new world will entail. I've worked to bring in students and see what it's like to help people get settled here, but really, that's not the beginning or middle of the job, or necessarily the end. That's the bonus, seeing things come together. What I want to learn is all the nitty-gritty. And I'm optimistic that I will.

Finally I get excited about the work I'll be doing, something that hasn't happened since freshmen year. I'm looking forward to the possibilities that are opening in front of me. Am I giving up everything I already know? No. Perhaps foolishly I keep telling myself that I'll be doing photography on the side, because that's one passion Karen introduced me to that I'm just never willing to give up. But now I can try and find a way to use all these skills that I enjoy and am enthused about, rather than looking ahead and grimacing at the stressful future I see on the horizon.

Education Abroad, get ready for a journalist to take to the streets.