Wow. Just wow. Words can't even express how in love with and how much I am blown away by Utah State. Coming here was by far the best decision I've ever made in my life.
Not only is it absolutely stunning - and I mean ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. But the people are incredibly nice and campus is out of this world.
Yesterday I dropped mom off at the airport and pretty much cried the entire way home - I said before I would allow myself TWO cries this summer. And I already used one. So the next one has got to be a good one. But after two phone calls - first one to Christopher and then later one to Ian - solved everything and made me feel much better. Of course Christopher tried to be my knight in shining armor and offered to fly out next week to help me out but I know that this is something I need to do on my own. As much as I love Chris for always making things 100% easier for me and always being there, I know that if I let him fix everything I'll never be able to do things on my own. So I'll just have to wait until August to see him!
And Ian just makes me laugh so hard I stop crying. He called me ridiculous and told me to go for a run...and you know what? It helped! I did a 5 mile run yesterday and I ran all the way to the mtn range that USU backs up to and touched one - incredible! His bass playing, relaxed, yoga master advice always puts things in perspective for me.
So I spent all last night ironing the billion button up shirts I insisted on bringing, watched a few episodes of NY Ink, skyped with Chris, and was asleep by 11.
This morning I woke up at 6 am to the gorgeous sunshine coming over the mountains and I went for a run, just a quick 3 miles to get rid of nervous energy. I spent an hour getting ready and picking out an outfit inspired by my 'cream of the crop' Cor Jesu sisters and Elle Woods - a black ruffled button up, grey ankle pants, my flats with my little diamong thingies on them, and bright pink nail polish. It says I'm professional and classy, but I like to have fun.
I called my sister on the way to class, as per usual. And was there ten minutes early. Early is on time and on time is late - remember that.
So walking into the building - wow. I was speechless. It's a 100% brand new facility - a 4 floor building ENTIRELY dedicated to the Sound Beginnings and Listening/Spoken Language emphasis. Everything is painted a light yellow, everything is new, it's completely modern. Huge windows covering every wall. Every room has a smart board, a huge conference table, a labtop, and comfy spinny chairs.
Sound Beginning's Website
We got a tour and they have a room for EVERYTHING- from Auditory Brainstem Response testing to Cochlear Implant troubleshooting, to a room full of JUST normative tests and research articles. On the third floor they have a huge room with glass windows and, get this, every person in the LSL program gets their own cubicle. Yes, I have a cubicle. And we're encouraged to decorate and make them our own. And my cubicle? It's the size of my room. AND I GET LOCKING FILING CABINETS - WITH MY OWN KEY.
They have ENTIRE closets, and I mean HUGE closets, FILLED with every art supply, game, toy, gadget you can think of. They have a GIANT library with JUST kids books/games/puzzles that are divided up by subject and what it works on. They have a project room for us to work on crafty things for therapy sessions and we're allowed to check out anything we want. The thing I like best is that we get so much freedom! I have a key card that allows me access to the building, and my cubicle, 24/7, they show us where every key is to any of the locked doors so we have access to all closets and files, and they have an 'open door policy' where all professors have to keep their office door open when they're not on the phone/in a meeting so that students feel they have access to their professors at any time.
Their observation rooms don't even compare to BU's. They have computer screens on the walls in the observation rooms so you can see what the audiology or speech pathologist is doing when they program cochlear implants and hearing aids.
Oh and I forgot to mention the school they have attached to the building. They have 36 children who attend a preschool that is JUST for hard of hearing/deaf children. They have 4 brand new classrooms with observation rooms attached and 2 other rooms - one that is set up like a house so we can do realistic, at home scenarios during therapy and another that is an interactive 'discovery room' with different activities set up. They also have a naturalistic playground outside that is specifically designed for creative learning. So when we observe or help out the classroom it's 100% authentic - we're actually helping kids in their school (conveniently located on campus).
I can't even describe the building and how new, beautiful it is. I'm so incredibly happy I chose to go here - I can't even believe I'm getting paid to do this. I also can't believe how incredible the program is here and how lucky I am to be in it. The even better part is that this isn't even my master's program - this is just my emphasis! So I can't wait to see what my other building looks like and what they have to offer. I'll definitely post pictures soon of the classrooms.
Also, the girls in my program are amazing. There's two of us in the LSL program that are brand new/didn't go to undergrad at USU so they gave us a full tour, took us to the card office, took us to the bookstore, pointed out important places on campus, and even took us to lunch. They're so friendly, and so kind, it's a 180 from BU. The other great thing about grad school is that there's a 100% "we're in this together let's do group work" mentality that's encouraged by the professors and students. We're all here to genuinely help each other. One girl even gave me a ride to the parking office for my pass! And we already have plans to have dinner Thursday and then this weekend go to one of the girls' apartment complex and lay out by her pool. I can't believe yesterday I cried because I felt alone and isolated - today I told one of the girl's and she replied "Well..now you have 6 friends in Utah! That's six times as many as yesterday!"
So anway, not to brag but...I literally go to the best school in the world. It's going to be a lot of work...and I already have assignments due and stuff to work on -a lot of stuff to work on. But I love it so much already I can't wait to see more.
View from my apartment door!
Not only is it absolutely stunning - and I mean ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. But the people are incredibly nice and campus is out of this world.
Yesterday I dropped mom off at the airport and pretty much cried the entire way home - I said before I would allow myself TWO cries this summer. And I already used one. So the next one has got to be a good one. But after two phone calls - first one to Christopher and then later one to Ian - solved everything and made me feel much better. Of course Christopher tried to be my knight in shining armor and offered to fly out next week to help me out but I know that this is something I need to do on my own. As much as I love Chris for always making things 100% easier for me and always being there, I know that if I let him fix everything I'll never be able to do things on my own. So I'll just have to wait until August to see him!
And Ian just makes me laugh so hard I stop crying. He called me ridiculous and told me to go for a run...and you know what? It helped! I did a 5 mile run yesterday and I ran all the way to the mtn range that USU backs up to and touched one - incredible! His bass playing, relaxed, yoga master advice always puts things in perspective for me.
So I spent all last night ironing the billion button up shirts I insisted on bringing, watched a few episodes of NY Ink, skyped with Chris, and was asleep by 11.
This morning I woke up at 6 am to the gorgeous sunshine coming over the mountains and I went for a run, just a quick 3 miles to get rid of nervous energy. I spent an hour getting ready and picking out an outfit inspired by my 'cream of the crop' Cor Jesu sisters and Elle Woods - a black ruffled button up, grey ankle pants, my flats with my little diamong thingies on them, and bright pink nail polish. It says I'm professional and classy, but I like to have fun.
I called my sister on the way to class, as per usual. And was there ten minutes early. Early is on time and on time is late - remember that.
So walking into the building - wow. I was speechless. It's a 100% brand new facility - a 4 floor building ENTIRELY dedicated to the Sound Beginnings and Listening/Spoken Language emphasis. Everything is painted a light yellow, everything is new, it's completely modern. Huge windows covering every wall. Every room has a smart board, a huge conference table, a labtop, and comfy spinny chairs.
Sound Beginning's Website
We got a tour and they have a room for EVERYTHING- from Auditory Brainstem Response testing to Cochlear Implant troubleshooting, to a room full of JUST normative tests and research articles. On the third floor they have a huge room with glass windows and, get this, every person in the LSL program gets their own cubicle. Yes, I have a cubicle. And we're encouraged to decorate and make them our own. And my cubicle? It's the size of my room. AND I GET LOCKING FILING CABINETS - WITH MY OWN KEY.
They have ENTIRE closets, and I mean HUGE closets, FILLED with every art supply, game, toy, gadget you can think of. They have a GIANT library with JUST kids books/games/puzzles that are divided up by subject and what it works on. They have a project room for us to work on crafty things for therapy sessions and we're allowed to check out anything we want. The thing I like best is that we get so much freedom! I have a key card that allows me access to the building, and my cubicle, 24/7, they show us where every key is to any of the locked doors so we have access to all closets and files, and they have an 'open door policy' where all professors have to keep their office door open when they're not on the phone/in a meeting so that students feel they have access to their professors at any time.
Their observation rooms don't even compare to BU's. They have computer screens on the walls in the observation rooms so you can see what the audiology or speech pathologist is doing when they program cochlear implants and hearing aids.
Oh and I forgot to mention the school they have attached to the building. They have 36 children who attend a preschool that is JUST for hard of hearing/deaf children. They have 4 brand new classrooms with observation rooms attached and 2 other rooms - one that is set up like a house so we can do realistic, at home scenarios during therapy and another that is an interactive 'discovery room' with different activities set up. They also have a naturalistic playground outside that is specifically designed for creative learning. So when we observe or help out the classroom it's 100% authentic - we're actually helping kids in their school (conveniently located on campus).
I can't even describe the building and how new, beautiful it is. I'm so incredibly happy I chose to go here - I can't even believe I'm getting paid to do this. I also can't believe how incredible the program is here and how lucky I am to be in it. The even better part is that this isn't even my master's program - this is just my emphasis! So I can't wait to see what my other building looks like and what they have to offer. I'll definitely post pictures soon of the classrooms.
Also, the girls in my program are amazing. There's two of us in the LSL program that are brand new/didn't go to undergrad at USU so they gave us a full tour, took us to the card office, took us to the bookstore, pointed out important places on campus, and even took us to lunch. They're so friendly, and so kind, it's a 180 from BU. The other great thing about grad school is that there's a 100% "we're in this together let's do group work" mentality that's encouraged by the professors and students. We're all here to genuinely help each other. One girl even gave me a ride to the parking office for my pass! And we already have plans to have dinner Thursday and then this weekend go to one of the girls' apartment complex and lay out by her pool. I can't believe yesterday I cried because I felt alone and isolated - today I told one of the girl's and she replied "Well..now you have 6 friends in Utah! That's six times as many as yesterday!"
So anway, not to brag but...I literally go to the best school in the world. It's going to be a lot of work...and I already have assignments due and stuff to work on -a lot of stuff to work on. But I love it so much already I can't wait to see more.
View from my apartment door!
View from outside the Sound Beginning's Program!
My cubicle for the rest of grad school <3 It WILL be decorated
I'll blog more - I promise! But now I have to start checking more stuff off my to-do list: time to find a bank and find a bike shop!
Love,
me
Comments
Post a Comment