Thank you everyone for an amazing class

I just want to say thank you to everyone for making each and every class so enjoyable. Everyone was always so enthusiastic about the material and their projects that i looked forward to going to class every week. I was also so moved and inspired by everyone's presentations.

Patrick, I just want to say that I shared Elaine's video on facebook and plan on donating in the near future. She is an amazing woman and i hope that everything works out for her.

Jennifer, thank you so much for introducing us to Hugues. His story and his thoughts on life are truly inspiring. Thank you also for being brave and using Creativist for your poject. It was great to see the different ways in which in can be used.

Patrick, thank you for bringing humor into your project. I know that i often think that projects have to be serious but humor is a great way to bring people together and foster connections.

Natalie, thank you for sharing a piece of yourself in your project. I thought that the personal piece really added to the project.

Kate, thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences with pain. My grandmother lived most of her life with Fibromyalgia so i really connected with a lot of the things that you talked about in your presentation. I cannot wait to look at your creativist presentation in its entirety. 

Liz, thank you for exploring alternative education methods. I have been interested in homeschooling for awhile and it was great to hear personal stories and reflections on homeschooling.

Paula, thank you for challenging us and forcing us to move out of our comfort zone.

Here is the video that I created for our project in case anyone wants to watch it again.

HERE I COME SUMMER

Last Post

Well, I am not quite sure that I can put into words about how I felt this class was and went. I am happy for it to come to an end because of obvious reason but at the same time I will miss the class room setting and most of all the people and Professor G which made this class that I was not quite sure how it was going to go but in the end I have not only gained important knowledge that I would have not been able to get anywhere else but I have learned that going out of your comfort zone and everything is going to be alright. It is fun to take risks and try something new and in the class we were all able to do this in various ways we did our presentations. I enjoyed everyone projects very much and now have more tools on my belt that I can use in furthering my education. I am glad that I got to be part of such a great group and such an interesting class. Some of you I may see in upcoming classes but some I will not. I hope your journey towards becoming social workers are filled with interesting stories that will help and inspire others in the profession, this is Patrick Johnson from channel 1 ½ signing off.

 

Fly high

Last Thoughts

I know when I introduced myself at the beginning of this class I said I wanted to take a class to get used to being back in the 'role' of a student and give myself some preparation for graduate school. While those things are kind of true it was sort of a glib comment and I knew I was drawn to taking this class for it's topic and objectives. I learned so much from all of you, the guest speakers, our professor, Sean, Muhsana, etc. and I will be heading off to school feeling more inspired and armed with more creative and effective ways to undertake research. I felt more comfortable and confident in my writing than I ever have before and I know that the openness and encouragement that was part of the blog had a huge influence on that. I know we were all collectively a bit nervous about putting together our presentations and I was so impressed with what everyone offered. It cemented the idea that this is such an important and effective way to show the implications of narrative and qualitative research.

I am equally impressed by the fact in one way or another you are all managing school, families, kids, jobs, career changes, and additional projects with all your other responsibilities. I know Maine will be so much better off having all of you in the field of social work! I hope to keep up with all the projects you are working on when I'm in Maine (Hope House, housing initiative for homeless vets, Center for Grieving Children, etc.)

If anyone finds themselves in the UK in the next year you are always welcome to come stay with me in Leeds where I'll be doing my Master's in International Health :-) My email is kpmcilhenny@gmail.com.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

final thoughts

My expectation of how this class was going to be was entirely different from what it actually was, it was honestly better than what I expected. I initially decided to take a summer course to lighten my load in the fall  and help prepare myself for the grad school life. I feel like this was the perfect course to not only prepare me for the fall semester, but it really got me excited for my entire grad school experience. I have so many ideas now and am open to trying new things. I learned something new from everyone's presentations and I see that their are endless amounts of options when doing an oral history project. Some of the highlights for me was the book The Warmth of our Suns. I felt like I was able to relearn and gain more of an understanding of the great migration through the personal stories incorporated in the book. The process of using iMovie and using media in general was another highlight of the class. I learned so much through trial and error and I am at the point where I just want to learn more and figure what else is out their to use for future presentations. This has been a great class and I am looking forward to the fall semester. However, I am really looking forward to the next 2 weeks off!!! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer..

-Natalie

WOW.. What a Journey it has Been!!

So I had to follow Jess' lead on the photo, this is about how I am feeling after this semester! I have taken four classes this summer and after many sleepless nights and all the 'running' Ive been doing I am feeling like I just ran a marathon! 

With that said this was the most amazing class I have taken! I love Dr. G's teaching methods and really feel that you do get out of a class what you put into it. I have given this class my all and it hasn't felt like work at all because it was so amazing and inspiring to have been in a class with all of you. I have learned so much from each of you and feel privileged to have met you all.

I stayed up late last night working on my part B and C, knowing I have one more final to get in by Friday for another class- but I slept until 10 am this morning! The first 8 hours of sleep in a long time and it felt GREAT! I hope that all of you take some time to yourselves now that classes are over for a few weeks, enjoy what we have left of the summer and be proud of the work that was accomplished! 

I know my daughter will be pleased after Friday now that classes will be over! She reminds me all the time how much she hates the fact I have so much homework to do, but she also sees that school is important and that you must work hard to accomplish great things. Though she hates it she knows that I am doing all this so that I can help people, and so that I can provide a better life for my family. 
 
In the end I have really mastered the art of multitasking, trying to be a mom, wife student, worker, and the list goes on.  I sit back and reflect on how great it was to have that 'down' time to go to class each week to sit and hear such wonderful stories from all of you and Dr. G. There was really great work being done, we should all be proud of the work we accomplished, the stories we heard and shared, and we learned how to use computer software (well for some of us)! 

So now that the rain has stopped and hopefully no one's basements are flooded, the day is bright and beautiful and I hope you all enjoy your time!

 Thanks for sharing the last seven weeks in a class with us all!

Okay, so this is slightly how I am feeling right now. BTW I'm Steve Carell on the end! I am so happy that I signed up for this class. Knowing how amazing Dr. G is I really expected no less. However, I am not sure I would have expected to meet so many new amazing people. The past two years I was on a track in undergrad where by mid last year I felt like I knew each and every one of them. Coming in to this class there were many new faces. I feel that I was pleasantly surprised as well as inspired by each of you. This is hopefully a sentiment to the trajectory of my experience in the MSW program (i.e. a bunch of over achievers!) I say that jokingly, but I truly appreciate being able to take classes with people who want to make a difference in the world and are not just trying to get a grade. 

Thank you! 

How I spent my Summer Vacation

Having summer off is one of the perks of teaching, therefore friends were perplexed when I told them my first summer as a Professor would include teaching a 7 week course. At the request of the then Assistant Dean, I proposed this course 4 years ago when I was teaching at University of Texas at Austin as a doctoral student. I was disappointed when I was not able to teach the course though excited to offer it this summer at USM. I checked every other day to see if the enrollment would meet the required number for a course offering. I was relieved when we had 10 enrolled students and the course was a go. Teaching this class has been a blast - and along with you all I have learned a great deal and I walk away inspired by your work.

Each of you invested a great deal of time and effort in your projects. You encouraged each other offered suggestions and resources. You took risks and experimented, pushing yourselves into new territory, using creativity and being flexible. The results were impressive, and you all should feel proud! We all felt connected to the people in your stories - and after all, making connection is what it is all about. I am excited to see where you go from here. Some of you mentioned you are interested in furthering your work, and if so keep me posted, I am happy to help.

So when people ask me how I have spent the summer vacation I tell them how lucky I am to be able to teach this class.

It has been a joy to get to know you all and be part of your learning process. Enjoy the remaining weeks of summer and hope to see you in the Fall!