![\"197d23a2be0a656ed02be8fc466e755e\"](\"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/197d23a2be0a656ed02be8fc466e755e.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLast month, I knocked something big off my bucket list. I finished my MASTER’S DEGREE! \u00a0Why is this big? Because it took me 2 years longer than I thought it would to finish it and of course it was a lot more work than I ever imagined it would be. \u00a0When I first started working at AU and thought about the opportunity for pursuing a further degree; I thought I would take part in the tuition exchange program and go for school counseling at another University (AU does not offer that). \u00a0But I kept running into some challenges that made getting into the exchange program a huge pain in the butt.\u00a0 So, I thought what the heck I will just get my MBA since AU offers that here on campus.<\/p>\n
I was a whole year into my MBA when AU rolled out this new graduate program called “Leadership for Service”. \u00a0It is a master’s built around the idea of Servant Leadership. \u00a0What is Servant Leadership? It is essentially\u00a0a leadership philosophy and set of practices that is geared towards enriching the lives of individuals, building better organizations and creating a\u00a0more just and caring world. \u00a0It goes so much deeper into what it takes to truly motivate and lead others. \u00a0Sounds kinda corny and mushy gushy doesn’t it? My thoughts exactly. \u00a0Which DUH is why I loved the sound of it right away and ditched my MBA program (despite being halfway through) and jumped into this one.<\/p>\n
I didn’t want just a piece of paper, I wanted something to challenge me and make me a better person, employee, leader and maybe even clarify if I am on the right path in my career. \u00a0That is exactly what I got out of this program. My MBA courses were good, but I wasn’t excited about them. \u00a0Accounting, Finance, Economics etc. just was not doing it for me.\u00a0 When I talked to both my Director and VP about switching programs, they both told me not to. \u00a0They told me an MBA would serve me better if I want to continue to move up the ladder or be more marketable for other positions. \u00a0With all due respect, I did not follow their advice and followed my gut instead.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Call me crazy but titles and moving up the ladder does not\u00a0mean\u00a0much to me. \u00a0Neither does promotion or money. What is important to me is MEANING. \u00a0What is important to me is the question of “Am I making a DIFFERENCE?<\/strong>” and “Am I making this world BETTER?<\/strong>” and that is EXACTLY what this program was about. \u00a0We had whole classes on how to be a better listener, how to be an authentic leader and how to be more self-aware and present. \u00a0How cool is that? \u00a0I cannot even tell you how many “AHA!” moments I had in this program. \u00a0Whether it was things I was doing wrong\/right as a leader or confirmation\u00a0on what I am passionate about and where I need to go.<\/p>\n This program also came at a perfect time where I was transitioning into a new leadership role and struggling with it. \u00a0It also solidified the fact that I am meant to work with students. I am still trying to figure out in what capacity that is,\u00a0but I know that is when I feel the most on fire. \u00a0When I am helping a student figure out the college application\/financial aid process, when I am helping a student figure out what career path is best for them, when I am teaching my Spartan Ambassadors important lessons and helping them be the best they can be. \u00a0THAT is when I want to shout from the rooftops because it makes me so happy. \u00a0Whether my role is to stay in admission or in a different path that is more student centered, I am not sure yet. \u00a0But I know I am moving in the right direction. \u00a0All of these things an MBA could not have given me. \u00a0The late nights and early mornings of cramming \u00a0for tests projects and papers, the precious weekend time spent in class was all so worth it. \u00a0I might get a few quizzical looks when people ask me what I completed my degree in, but it’s all good.\u00a0I came out of this program with more knowledge, self-awareness and confidence than I had before I started and could not have loved my experience more. \u00a0That is what education is all about.<\/p>\n Happy Sunday, stay blessed in the mess \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last month, I knocked something big off my bucket list. I finished my MASTER’S DEGREE! \u00a0Why is this big? Because it took me 2 years longer than I thought it would to finish it and of course it was a lot more work than I ever imagined it would be. \u00a0When I first started working at AU and thought about the opportunity for pursuing a further degree; I thought I would take part in the tuition exchange program and go for school counseling at another University (AU does not offer that). \u00a0But I kept running into some challenges that made getting into the exchange program a huge pain in the butt.\u00a0 So, I thought what the heck I will just get my MBA since AU offers that here on campus. I was a whole year into my MBA when AU rolled out this new graduate program called “Leadership for Service”. \u00a0It is a master’s built around the idea of Servant Leadership. \u00a0What is Servant Leadership? It is essentially\u00a0a leadership philosophy and set of practices that is geared towards enriching the lives of individuals, building better organizations and creating a\u00a0more just and caring world. \u00a0It goes so much deeper into what it takes to truly motivate and lead others. \u00a0Sounds kinda corny and mushy gushy doesn’t it? My thoughts exactly. \u00a0Which DUH is why I loved the sound of it right away and ditched my MBA program (despite being halfway through) and jumped into this one. I didn’t want just a piece of paper, I wanted something to challenge me and make me a better person, employee, leader and maybe even clarify if I am on the right path in my career. \u00a0That is exactly what I got out of this program. My MBA courses were good, but I wasn’t excited about them. \u00a0Accounting, Finance, Economics etc. just was not doing it for me.\u00a0 When I talked to both my Director and VP about switching programs, they both told me not to. \u00a0They told me an MBA would serve me better if I want to continue to move up the ladder or be more marketable for other positions. \u00a0With all due respect, I did not follow their advice and followed my gut instead. Call me crazy but titles and moving up the ladder does not\u00a0mean\u00a0much to me. \u00a0Neither does promotion or money. What is important to me is MEANING. \u00a0What is important to me is the question of “Am I making a DIFFERENCE?” and “Am I making this world BETTER?” and that is EXACTLY what this program was about. \u00a0We had whole classes on how to be a better listener, how to be an authentic leader and how to be more self-aware and present. \u00a0How cool is that? \u00a0I cannot even tell you how many “AHA!” moments I had in this program. \u00a0Whether it was things I was doing wrong\/right as a leader or confirmation\u00a0on what I am passionate about and where I need to go. This program also came at a perfect time where I was transitioning into a new leadership role and struggling with it. \u00a0It also solidified the fact that I am meant to work with students. I am still trying to figure out in what capacity that is,\u00a0but I know that is when I feel the most on fire. \u00a0When I am helping a student figure out the college application\/financial aid process, when I am helping a student figure out what career path is best for them, when I am teaching my Spartan Ambassadors important lessons and helping them be the best they can be. \u00a0THAT is when I want to shout from the rooftops because it makes me so happy. \u00a0Whether my role is to stay in admission or in a different path that is more student centered, I am not sure yet. \u00a0But I know I am moving in the right direction. \u00a0All of these things an MBA could not have given me. \u00a0The late nights and early mornings of cramming \u00a0for tests projects and papers, the precious weekend time spent in class was all so worth it. \u00a0I might get a few quizzical looks when people ask me what I completed my degree in, but it’s all good.\u00a0I came out of this program with more knowledge, self-awareness and confidence than I had before I started and could not have loved my experience more. \u00a0That is what education is all about. Happy Sunday, stay blessed in the mess \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[52,51,53,50],"class_list":["post-1934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-uncategorized","tag-education","tag-leadership","tag-masters-degree","tag-servant-leadership"],"aioseo_notices":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1934"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1943,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions\/1943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}