Fifteen months. That’s how long it took me to complete my master’s degree while working full-time. I finished with a 3.94 GPA and am graduating with distinction (whatever that means). In that short amount of time, I also moved to a new state, got a new job, starting attending a new church, and made new friends.
As the end of 2017 comes to a close, I spent some time reflecting on what became part of my life as I was working on my master’s degree.
Work
-started a new job
-finished a 14-month consultant process with a higher education firm
-started a rebrand strategy for the college
-managed new communications to prospective students KC hadn’t done before
-built and implemented a customer relationship management system (CRM)
-began an unofficial sorority for college-aged females
Church
-joined church service leadership team to re-imagine and wrestle with our current church culture to bring about positive change
-created and managing a communications team responsible for graphics and messaging in conjunction with our sermon series
-actively involved in our Young Adult Life group (which has about 40-50 people attending our Sabbath School on average)
Other
-saw James Bay, Adele, Johnnyswim, Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Needtobreathe, Colony House and Mutemath
-saw the Grand Canyon with my family
-spent Memorial Day weekend in Asheville
-saw my last couple friends get married in July
-attending my brother’s wedding in Costa Rica
-was in my best friend’s wedding in August
-hung out in LA a couple times
-saw the solar eclipse
-hiked 7 miles in the Rocky Mountains after attending a conference in Denver
-saw the Patriots have the greatest Super Bowl comeback with good friends
-celebrated my 27th birthday, alone, in a cabin in the woods (it was amazing)
Back in August 2016, I made the decision to leave Chattanooga, TN and move to Dayton, OH. I was pessimistic about the opportunities that I would have in Ohio, but moved out of desperation for something new. As I look back over the last year and some months, I can see how different my life has been since moving, and yet I still have been able to experience so much–and while being in school, which was no easy feat.
THANK YOU…
First of all, I want to thank my family for their endless support in doing this. My mom, especially, had been pushing me to do my master’s for awhile and when I finally found a program I liked, I knew I needed to go ahead and do it. I want to thank my bosses and coworkers at Southern and Kettering. Without them, I wouldn’t have done it. My former coworkers, who encouraged me with text messages when I completed big projects and my current coworkers, who commiserated with me as they too were completing their master’s degrees. To my friends, who put up with me being MIA and distant as I focused on writing papers when I could’ve been hanging out with them. To the many friends and social media followers, who celebrated with me and encouraged me when I asked for it. Ultimately, thank you to God for giving me ability to juggle everything and be proud of what I accomplished.
Lauren Brooks 