Post Grad - What's Next?

Hey there friends, I have been MIA for some time on this blog because I have been finishing my Masters Degree and I went to walk for that!! This was quite the accomplishment for me, so I thought I would give you all a little insight to what I did and some of the work associated with it. The next post will be more site related ... promise! :) If you are thinking of going to school again - please consider this: DO YOUR RESEARCH! I am just telling you my experience with where I went.

How it all began:

In 2013 I thought it would be fun to try out a Master's program. Through another institution other than where I actually went - it was not my thing. The program was not for me, the learning structure was not for me. Through thoughtful prayer and consideration, I left the online program and lived my life with my Bachelor's degree. Then in 2016 I had a friend looking for an undergrad school online to fit her schedule. I was helping her look. One of my friends was doing her degree at Grand Canyon University so I had my friend look into this school. Well I found the Master Programs and thought about going back. It kept burning in my mind that this was the right time. I looked at a few different schools, tried looking into going back to the first institution and I finally decided on GCU (Grand Canyon University). I applied. Within moments of talking to the enrollment counselor, I knew this was the school for me. I started in September of 2016 in the M.S. of Leadership program.

I did not have to take the GRE for GCU. It was an online based program at an accredited college based in Phoenix Arizona. Their campus is gorgeous! When I went for graduation I just loved it. Had I wanted to go to school farther from home for my undergrad (mine was just 3.5 hours south of SLC), this would have been my ideal campus. It is a Christian based University so they do talk about God occasionally, and I even got a bible at the end of my walk down the stage. I was able to get Federal Loans to help pay for my tuition and I was also able to get Tuition Reimbursement from my work!

Online learning was easy for me because I am a self motivated person! I knew that my assignments were due on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. I planned accordingly and spent the necessary time. I ended up with a 3.9 GPA (dang you two A- classes! *shakes fist*) and it was all because I knew my schedule and I took the time. The online platform was easy to navigate, the professors were very communicative, and the students were equally just as motivated. I still had group projects, and because of my degree - we only had to write papers - no tests.

One of my favorite things I got to do for an assignment was read a book on Leadership. The book I read was The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; Follow Them and People will Follow You by John C. Maxwell and it taught me a lot about leadership. One of my favorite things I learned in my time was Servant Leadership. It is a concept that your stakeholders and employees come before yourself as a leader and your own needs. One of my classes I got to have a mentoring opportunity and another class I got to create a leadership program at my work.

Being in Arizona was so much fun, I got to see my brother who lives there with his kids, they moved there last year. My best friend came in and saw me graduate, my parents were there. We celebrated my brother's undergrad graduation through a different online institution. It was such a great trip, it was very cleansing. Summer came early, 99 degrees is their spring weather as where in Utah it is only 72 on a warm spring day. We laid by the pool, read, went on a walk, met new people... definitely a state of mind that I want to always be in if I can. I love Arizona, but it is just too hot for me.

The question that everyone is asking me lately is "Adriana, what is next?". I joke with them and say "well we will see what new career they hand me as I cross the stage". As simple as that would be, it is completely unrealistic. This is something I contemplate everyday. I am getting a new boss at work and I want to see how that goes; however, I don't want to be an administrative assistant with a master's degree (there is nothing wrong with this by the way). Right now I am just trying to figure out me, what I want... where I want to go. Ideally this blog, my podcast, and my little Senegence business would take flight and I could work on my own terms, but alas... I have bills to pay, a cat with a luxurious lifestyle and a book obsession.

So how am I going to figure it out? Well "figuring out things" is never an easy concept. I am a religious person so I will turn to my God, my lists, my books, and my job boards to see what I want to do. Perhaps I will move within my company I work for now (healthcare/health insurance); however, working in academia is something I have been looking into for a long time. It would be a very scary transition only because of change but it is important to keep growing and to keep becoming the person that we want to become.

I recently listened to How to Stop Feeling Like Shit by Andrea Owen on Audible and this book was amazing! It teaches you to stop feeling sorry (as a women - men can too) for wanting a better life! I always worry about what my coworkers will think of me when I leave, but who cares!? I am good at what I do... really good... however, I am replaceable. They can find someone to do my job, so why would I hold myself back? I have a Master's Degree for heaven's sake!

What advice do you have? Comment below!