You Can Go Back Again. . . And Nothing’s Changed
Recently started work, again, on my master's degree in communication at Northern Illinois University. I say again because I was in the graduate journalism department back in 1992 until the master's in journalism program was eliminated midway through my coursework. Completed all my coursework and then made the decision at the time to leave and take a job before finishing my thesis.
Looking back, now 11 years of professional experience later, it was the right decision. The work experience that I gained in that first job led to my current job and I've never really looked back with regret.
However, the last several years I've been itching to get back to school and pick up where I left off. I've wanted to earn the degree for a number of reasons. The knowledge, to be sure, along with the professional credential. But mostly, I just miss being a student.
Long story short, I'm now in the graduate communication program and even received 12 credits that I earned back in the 1990s. It's a good program with a strong mix of professors specializing in a variety of areas within the field.
I'm taking mass communication research, which is not the easiest way to re-introduce your brain to graduate coursework after it's been dormant for about 12 years. But, a month in, I'm finally starting to feel like a student again. The brain is firing and my ability to find research is picking up.
However, what has struck me the most about my return has been the physical changes to the campus that have not occurred since I left. Oh sure, NIU has built a bunch of new buildings and expanded in a number of areas. But, my first visit to Founders Library was like a literal step back in time. The smells. The carpet. The microforms room. The squeaking escalators. Nothing had changed.
And, my nostalgia tour continued last week when I ventured over to the Rockford College library, where I'd earned my undergraduate degree, to do some reading in a quiet spot away from the madness at home. Again, the same smells, the same carpet. I'm apparently stuck in some kind of academic time warp where nothing ever changes.
I noted this observation to a co-worker the other day and remarked that my current revisiting of the past would rarely take place in other industries. At the hospital where I work, we change, remodel and revise floors, units and departments almost by the hour it seems. In fact, the only constant in some industries, health care especially, is change.
Despite all this, I'm enjoying the Academic Nostalgia Tour 2006. Something about the slower pace of academia is soothing in my otherwise insanely-busy world.
Looking back, now 11 years of professional experience later, it was the right decision. The work experience that I gained in that first job led to my current job and I've never really looked back with regret.
However, the last several years I've been itching to get back to school and pick up where I left off. I've wanted to earn the degree for a number of reasons. The knowledge, to be sure, along with the professional credential. But mostly, I just miss being a student.
Long story short, I'm now in the graduate communication program and even received 12 credits that I earned back in the 1990s. It's a good program with a strong mix of professors specializing in a variety of areas within the field.
I'm taking mass communication research, which is not the easiest way to re-introduce your brain to graduate coursework after it's been dormant for about 12 years. But, a month in, I'm finally starting to feel like a student again. The brain is firing and my ability to find research is picking up.
However, what has struck me the most about my return has been the physical changes to the campus that have not occurred since I left. Oh sure, NIU has built a bunch of new buildings and expanded in a number of areas. But, my first visit to Founders Library was like a literal step back in time. The smells. The carpet. The microforms room. The squeaking escalators. Nothing had changed.
And, my nostalgia tour continued last week when I ventured over to the Rockford College library, where I'd earned my undergraduate degree, to do some reading in a quiet spot away from the madness at home. Again, the same smells, the same carpet. I'm apparently stuck in some kind of academic time warp where nothing ever changes.
I noted this observation to a co-worker the other day and remarked that my current revisiting of the past would rarely take place in other industries. At the hospital where I work, we change, remodel and revise floors, units and departments almost by the hour it seems. In fact, the only constant in some industries, health care especially, is change.
Despite all this, I'm enjoying the Academic Nostalgia Tour 2006. Something about the slower pace of academia is soothing in my otherwise insanely-busy world.
posted by W.S. Wuori at 8:25 PM
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