Not much has happened since my last post. However, today is exactly two months until I board my plane for Nassau. I can hardly sit still, I am that excited! I still so much to do, but I find myself visiting the Semester at Sea website and looking through the different port trips and envisioning myself in all these different places. I really need to get a grip!
Although, while on one of my many visits to the site I did happen upon something totally cool that I thought I'd share with you all. It is official: I'm a staff member! Here is my bio on the Summer 2011 Voyage page... Amy Diestelkamp LLC of Student Leadership.
Now all I have to do is try to stay grounded until June! It's harder said than done. Wish me luck!
Ciao!!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
It just keeps getting better and better!!
So a lot has happened since I last posted! In March I interviewed for a staff position with Semester at Sea that would allow me to receive class credit and gain practical experience in my field of interest: International Student Affairs. After waiting three anxious weeks I finally received a call from Dr. Hellwig, Dean of Students for our voyage, offering me the position of Living-Learning Coordinator of Student Leadership!! I have, of course, accepted and am so excited to have this opportunity!
I still find myself thinking, "Is this really happening?!" Many of you may not know this, but over the past two years I have applied (and been denied) for a couple positions. I would receive the second phone call and get the second interview. But in the end they went with someone else. I was feeling pretty crushed this past fall semester after another rejection letter. I really began to question my reasons for pursuing a masters degree in higher education. However, I had to have faith. Have faith in myself and my abilities and faith that these other jobs (for whatever reason) were not the ones for me. And that faith paid off!!!
If I had been offered one of those other positions I probably wouldn't have had the drive to pursue Semester at Sea like I did. I have been working towards this since September; getting department approval, recommendation letters, financing, and study abroad paper work all sorted out. It has been crazy but so worth it! The night I got the call from Dr. Hellwig offering me the job I thought to myself, "This is my fate. This is the answer to my calling in life."
Now I have been spending the past couple weeks getting acquainted with my fellow classmates and coworkers via Facebook. It is so exciting to read their posts and get to know them through their words...this must be what it used to be like to have a pen pal back in the "olden days." However, I have more like 20 of them.
One person I have gotten to speak with is my future roommate, Jenni. She will also be tag-teaming the LLC of Leadership position with me. Funny coincidence, we had actually already been in contact with each other over Facebook and planned on rooming together in Nassau a few days before our ship takes off! Crazy how things work out, huh?!
Through e-mails, Facebook messages, wall posts and one 90 minute phone conversation Jenni and I are getting to know each other and starting to plan our future program. In addition to the LLC position, we will also be in charge of a residential area of the ship (called a Sea). I think we will get along great and cannot wait to meet her face-to-face in June (finally!!).
It is now officially less than 70 days until I leave for Nassau, Bahamas! I will be staying there for one night with Jenni and two other ladies in the Student Affairs at Sea program: Caitlin and Adrienne. We will be touring College of the Bahamas and hopefully getting to enjoy the island a little bit before boarding the ship to begin preparing for the undergraduates. I cannot wait to meet everyone and get to start this new adventure!
I feel I need to leave you with some shots of the awesome places I've been and hope to see again this summer!
These are all photos of the little town in Italy that I studied in back in 2008, Ariccia. It is only 45 minutes south of Rome and I hope to get back there this summer to see my friends! You won't find a place with better pizza, wine, or people.
Until next time, ciao amici!
I still find myself thinking, "Is this really happening?!" Many of you may not know this, but over the past two years I have applied (and been denied) for a couple positions. I would receive the second phone call and get the second interview. But in the end they went with someone else. I was feeling pretty crushed this past fall semester after another rejection letter. I really began to question my reasons for pursuing a masters degree in higher education. However, I had to have faith. Have faith in myself and my abilities and faith that these other jobs (for whatever reason) were not the ones for me. And that faith paid off!!!
If I had been offered one of those other positions I probably wouldn't have had the drive to pursue Semester at Sea like I did. I have been working towards this since September; getting department approval, recommendation letters, financing, and study abroad paper work all sorted out. It has been crazy but so worth it! The night I got the call from Dr. Hellwig offering me the job I thought to myself, "This is my fate. This is the answer to my calling in life."
Now I have been spending the past couple weeks getting acquainted with my fellow classmates and coworkers via Facebook. It is so exciting to read their posts and get to know them through their words...this must be what it used to be like to have a pen pal back in the "olden days." However, I have more like 20 of them.
One person I have gotten to speak with is my future roommate, Jenni. She will also be tag-teaming the LLC of Leadership position with me. Funny coincidence, we had actually already been in contact with each other over Facebook and planned on rooming together in Nassau a few days before our ship takes off! Crazy how things work out, huh?!
Through e-mails, Facebook messages, wall posts and one 90 minute phone conversation Jenni and I are getting to know each other and starting to plan our future program. In addition to the LLC position, we will also be in charge of a residential area of the ship (called a Sea). I think we will get along great and cannot wait to meet her face-to-face in June (finally!!).
It is now officially less than 70 days until I leave for Nassau, Bahamas! I will be staying there for one night with Jenni and two other ladies in the Student Affairs at Sea program: Caitlin and Adrienne. We will be touring College of the Bahamas and hopefully getting to enjoy the island a little bit before boarding the ship to begin preparing for the undergraduates. I cannot wait to meet everyone and get to start this new adventure!
I feel I need to leave you with some shots of the awesome places I've been and hope to see again this summer!
These are all photos of the little town in Italy that I studied in back in 2008, Ariccia. It is only 45 minutes south of Rome and I hope to get back there this summer to see my friends! You won't find a place with better pizza, wine, or people.
Until next time, ciao amici!
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