Just Say Yes!

Written by: Jess Robinson

We have almost made it through the fall semester, we are less than a week away!!!  

The picture above is of me and Mr. Wuf at the Jenkins MAC Program 3rd Annual MAC Celebration. I am sure most people can relate to the desire to be social during this time but also the comfort of not being able to be social. When I saw the invitation come across my email time and again I thought about how it may be fun but kept avoiding the decision. Finally I reached out to my group and a few other classmates that I worked with in data analytics and asked them if they would be interested in attending.

Not surprisingly everyone else was in the same boat, they considered it but put it off. As an online student it is difficult to make these personal connections especially with people in your class that you have not worked with on a project or a regular basis. 

I am so glad I said yes and went! Not only did I get this great picture but I got to really connect with fellow students and instructors.  We shared experiences thus far, information about classes we’ve taken, and which classes we will be taking in the spring. If you have the opportunity to attend an in-person event do so! It greatly enhanced my experience and helped me to network with fellow students and instructors. 

As an online student I have felt very welcome at in person events and feel it is a great benefit that the program offers. Online students are treated the same as on-campus and we have all of the same resources available to us. This is definitely not true of all online programs. It is great to meet and talk to your professors and classmates and really makes a different in the graduate program experience.