What a Journey!

At this time last year, I was concluding my presentations at an American Cancer Society Youth Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, experiencing the stress of senior year, trying to focus my thesis topic, and attempting to hobble around a large hotel without the crutches that I was supposed to be using thanks to my recently fractured kneecap (it's a long story).  Needless to say, researching and applying graduate schools was not on my agenda.  I decided to choose the grad school route later in the game than most of my peers at the Nicholas School, and I want to share my experience with you in case you find yourself in a similar situation.

During the summer before my senior year, I had the privilege of working with the newly-created Corporate Citizenship department within Sodexo, an international food and facilities management company.  I spent the summer on the perimeter of Washington D.C. researching environmental policy initiatives, creating presentations, and generally learning about working in the corporate environmental policy sector.  I enjoyed the experience immensely and realized that I could see myself continuing to work in the corporate environmental arena in the future.  I knew that grad school was also a possibility, but it was continuously shoved to the back of my mind, along with applying to the Peace Corps and my senior thesis.  When school started, I found myself busier than ever before with eight extracurricular activities, three part-time jobs, and the demands of schoolwork.  Entering the working world directly after graduation became more appealing as I realized that researching grad programs, taking the GRE, and preparing applications were activities that did not fit into my schedule. 

However, everything changed when I visited Duke University last November.  During the first months of my fall semester, I met with three of my favorite professors at Colorado College to talk about post-graduate options.  Based on their recommendations, I started to make a list of graduate programs that looked interesting, while also keeping an open mind about working.  In November, I attended the AASHE 2008 Campus Sustainability Conference in Raleigh, NC and decided to take an impromptu afternoon trip to Durham to check out the Duke campus.  I was unprepared for the instant attraction that I felt to the school - I blame the Harry Potter-esque architecture and autumn leaves :).  Needless to say, Duke moved up to the number one spot on my list and I started to seriously think about applying to graduate school.

On the plane back to Colorado, I knew that I would need to accomplish several things in a very short period of time.  I was already behind most people who planned to apply to graduate school for the fall 2009 admission period and had missed most of the early application deadlines.  I needed to research and narrow my list of schools and programs, study and take the GRE, write my personal statements, fill out applications, and ask professors to write my recommendation letters.  Was it possible? 

Stay tuned for Part II of this adventure - what happened next and some helpful tips that I picked up along the way.  And in the meantime...

'Don't stop believin'...