My life as a grad student at Tarleton State University more than likely looks a little different than your typical grad student. In May, I left my job as a full-time teacher and coach to complete my graduate degree in Sports Administration. I originally began my journey as a graduate student in the middle of the wonderful time we like to call “The COVID Year.” I took classes online through my alma mater, Hardin-Simmons University while beginning my first year of coaching and teaching. Those of you who have spent time in coaching will understand when I say that time quickly got the best of me and I was finding less and less time to complete my studies. That’s why this time around I chose to focus fully on completing my graduate degree.
Since I stepped away from teaching and coaching for grad school, I found myself with a lot of extra time to fill. So I began looking at Graduate Assistantships offered at Tarleton. This is when I stumbled upon the Graduate Assistantship in the College of Graduate Studies. This means that most of my day is spent in the office on Tarleton’s main campus in Stephenville. I currently reside in my hometown of Glen Rose, just 30 minutes east of Stephenville, and commute back and forth to the office.
Here is what a typical “Day in the Life” looks like for me. I wake up about an hour and a half before my shift in the office begins to get ready for the day. Once I am dressed and ready to go I say goodbye to my two dogs and head out. I spend most of my drive to work every morning listening to worship music or a good audiobook so that I can start my day in the right mindset. Once in Stephenville, I make a quick breakfast stop, mostly to Starbucks or Cold Smoke, to fuel up with some caffeine for the shift. My time in the office is spent answering questions that current or prospective graduate students might have, transferring calls to advisors or other departments, and working on my studies during downtime. Once my shift in the office is done I typically like to head back to Glen Rose and stop at my favorite local coffee shop, Grounded Coffee, to grab a bite to eat and work on anything I still need to complete for the day. Once I am done with that, I spend my evenings with friends or family unwinding before heading to bed to get ready to start the next day.
My days obviously vary depending on the day of the week and what semester we are in. Being in the office in Stephenville definitely makes it a lot easier to stay on top of my studies as well as it provides a unique opportunity for me to spend a little bit of extra time with my younger sister, a current sophomore at Tarleton, who commutes with me to Stephenville when she needs to be on campus.
I would encourage anyone who is looking to pursue a graduate degree to spend a lot of time deciding what works best for you. This may be stepping away from your full-time job to complete your studies like me, or it may be working full-time while being a part-time student. Whichever of these you choose I encourage you to dedicate your time in your pursuit of higher education and greater knowledge. It is something I don’t believe you will ever regret.
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