On June 1st, I officially completed my first year in the MAT@USC program. When I first began, I thought it’d be just like every other online program, but boy was I wrong! I expected graduate school to be a little challenging, but this past year has shown me that graduate school is a labor of love.
I was initially supposed to begin the program with the September 2010 cohort, but because of some family issues, I postponed my start date until November 2010. Starting immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday was a little awkward because the trimester would go on until the end of February. It actually took me a minute to get used to the trimester schedule that the program follows. The schedule was especially challenging when we reached the designated “spring break” which was actually a month off from school. I must say, at first having a month off from classes sounded awesome; I’d have the opportunity to relax and reset my brain. Unfortunately, the month off only served as a “shut down” signal for my brain! Having so much time off made it a little hard to get back into the groove of things once the Summer 2011 semester started at the end of March. Continuing classes until the end of May was new to me, especially after becoming accustomed to my undergraduate schedule in which classes ended at the end of April.
Now that the first year is over, I look back and think about the stacks of papers I’ve written and the hours of observations I’ve logged. Although, it felt like the writing would never end, I see now it was all worth it. I know so much more now than I did before I began the program; not just about students and education, but also about myself.
As new students enter the program, my best advice to you all is to begin the program with an open mind. Many of my classmates began the program with full-time jobs, children, and many other responsibilities, but they learned to balance it all. I, myself, have had many challenges during my first year, but keeping an open mind allowed me to see that I could handle anything as long as I kept a positive attitude and an open mind. If you are considering joining the MAT@USC program, what are you waiting for???! Here, you will meet some amazing mentors and new friends.
So until next time, FIGHT ON! 
If you’d like to know more about how MAT@USC can prepare you to take your teaching certificate and make a difference in your local community, contact our Admissions office at 888.MAT.1USC or email us at matadmit@usc.edu.
