proposals and research and coffee, oh my.

This morning has consisted of me dragging myself out of bed, using approximately 25 tissues, attempting to dress myself presentably, and marching off to work on a proposal, without coffee.

All that said, it really hasn't been a bad morning. There's something really exciting about coming to work and having the opportunity to work on a proposal for a national conference that you will *hopefully* get a chance to present at. I feel so honored in my position here. We are in such a time of transition with First Year Experience here at Taylor, and I get to be on the *almost* front end of it, at least I get to see it implemented, and learn how to assess  that implementation. Whew. Talk about professional development right off the bat!

Along those lines, I am incredibly excited about the research I get to be doing in the next few months. First, there's my thesis. I'm meeting with my professor Monday to see if this works, but I'm thinking about researching the impact of campus programming on student engagement, especially in light of the 'over-programming' that seems to happen on many college campuses. We'll see.

Second, I get to research Leonard Oakland. Yep, that's right. We have to do archival research on a significant historical figure, and it doesn't have to be at Taylor. So, LAO it is. :)

Third, I get to choose a current trend in student development, and research that trend (if any of you have thoughts, I would REALLY appreciate it!). Basically, I can choose anything that is a 'trend' amongst students that can be connected to student development in some way. I'm really excited about this...I just need to figure out what I'm doing!

That's not all the research I'll be doing this semester, but I don't want to bore you all with everything I've got going...suffice it to say, I am incredibly excited about the push this program is giving me professionally and academically.

In a completely different direction, I found a new coffee shop! It's about fifteen minutes away in Hartford City, and it's called Common Grounds. It's this cute little place, right across the street from this incredible medieval looking courthouse, and it has all sorts of antiques on the walls, and different patterned table cloths, and decent coffee. It's not spectacular, but it feels a little more like home.

So, while I'm sitting here immensely enjoying the Indiana fall, know that I miss you all too. A lot. I'm buying my ticket home for Christmas today. So excited to finally have that definitely set.

Love,
nat