the encouragement lounge: Have you found your study buddy?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Have you found your study buddy?

Remember when you were a little kid -- if you ever went on a field trip as a very little kid, the teacher would have you hold hands with another student... a strategy to try to keep everyone together and make sure nobody got left behind.

Well, as adult students, we don't hold hands as we walk from class to class! However, I'm writing to suggest that you find a study buddy, an academic best friend -- someone in your class or program, someone who you connect with easily and trust. Or maybe it's not one person, but a few who you will rely upon and support. The thing is, sometimes as adult students, we rush to class and then are eager to get home after, and we don't really take time to connect. However, I believe that it is the connections we form with other students that help us progress through our programs successfully. Sometimes we vent with these academic friends: "I can't believe my advisor was late again!". Sometimes we try out new ideas: "I'm thinking about writing my thesis about... what do you think?". Sometimes we express our fears and sometimes we share our successes. For all these reasons, academic or school friends, are vital to our success.

Who is your study buddy?

Cheering you on!

Harriet

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.