BY RACHEL GALATIS
Wow, it is crazy to think that this time two months ago I was writing my final letter-to-the-editor, and now I’m sitting at my computer writing from the perspective of a new graduate school student. Truthfully, when I finished my last semester at Stonehill in December, I was so nervous. I had so many people congratulating me for graduating a semester early, but I didn’t feel like I deserved it. “I have no idea what I want to do now, so why did I do this in the first place,” I thought to myself. As January came around, and hours started to slow down at my part-time job at the Paper Store, I knew I needed to come up with a plan, and fast.
My first idea was to apply for a graduate assistantship, where one begins their master’s program while working part time at the college they attend. The benefits to this include having a degree paid for, getting paid to work, all while being able to complete a master’s program in (typically) under two years. The only problem with this: I thought I would have to wait until June to begin, and I didn’t think it would be very professional to get a full-time job and must quit after just five months. “I need to find a plan B,” I thought, and that’s just what happened next.
Let me start from the beginning: Hi, my name is Rachel, and despite my undergrad experience as a Communications major, I am now a full-time M.B.A. student at Endicott College. After speaking to an admissions counselor at Endicott, I was encouraged to get an M.B.A. to expand my qualifications and (hopefully) open the door to a wider range of opportunities once I graduate. So far, I have had a great experience, it’s just different to the one I had at Stonehill. It doesn’t bother me that my alarm wakes me up at 6:15 a.m. Monday through Friday because I feel as though it is good practice for a work commute in the future, and I like having class every day to make my schedule complete. As someone who thrives on structure, it has been a nice feeling at the thought of having a full-time schedule everyday.
What I find the most different about grad school versus undergrad is the mix of people. I noticed right away that in my classes now, everyone dresses nicely; guys are in collar shirts and khakis, and girls are in dresses and blazers. What I thought this meant was that everyone was going straight to work once our class got out at noon, and that I was the youngest one in the room and very behind. However, after getting to know people, most of them are athletes and graduate assistants, many of whom have part time jobs like me and still like to go out on the weekends. Everyone just likes to dress up to have a better feel of what it will be like to dress up for the real world within the next year. It doesn’t feel the same walking to class on a different campus. Endicott is beautiful, and I’m not going to lie, I love the fact there is a beach right across the street, but it just doesn’t feel like home like Stonehill does. When I talk to people and they ask me what I am doing this weekend, I naturally say I’m going to school, and they look at me like I have five heads and remind me that we are at school. But when I think of school, I think of Stonehill, our school. Our pride and joy and our home.
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