IEDP never stops even during Thanksgiving! It has been a crazy semester and we have been busy with assignments and group projects; however, that does not mean that we do nothing fun. In fact, I love my cohort for holding so many diverse activities that makes our cohort bond tighter. I really feel close to my cohort and I truly happy to be the GA of this cohort. Read more to see how the enjoyable IEDP student life looks like!
– Diana Seo, first year IEDP student
10:50am-11:30am It’s Friday – I have no class today, but I definitely have a busy day ahead. I headed to GSE early in the morning to meet my lovely interviewee for a research proposal I am working on for EDUC 5945 Qualitative Research and the Politics of Knowledge. Luckily, my friend in GSE kindly volunteered to help! I treated her to coffee, we chatted, laughed, and ended up having such a fun and meaningful interview—truly the cutest way to start the day ☕✨
11:30am-1:30pm While Thanksgiving break is exciting, there is definitely a pile of assignments waiting on the other side 🥹. I stopped by the office hours with our wonderful TA for EDUC 6462: Principles of Monitoring and Evaluation to ask a few questions about the data analysis assignment. As challenging as it is, this course has been incredibly rewarding—I’ve really dived deep into the world of data analytics because of it. I’m even considering taking more advanced monitoring and evaluation courses, though I have to admit… staring at a massive dataset can still feel a little overwhelming 😅📊
1:40pm- 2:10pm After wrestling with quantitative data, I headed to 1920 Commons to spend some dining dollars on a sandwich for lunch. On my way home, I stopped by the Graduate Student Center, one of my favorite places. It’s cozy, perfect for studying, and—best of all—there’s free coffee! I always leave feeling warm, caffeinated, and very grateful ☕💛
4:30-5:00pm Today is a very special day because we have 🥁🥁🥁… Friendsgiving party! 🦃✨ To celebrate Thanksgiving with our cohort, we planned an early potluck so everyone could join. For the party, I picked up Bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) and spicy Korean grilled pork from a nearby Korean restaurant, U-Town. Their food is solid, and I really hope everyone enjoys it!
I would love to cook these dishes myself one day, but my kitchen is not really suitable for cooking huge meals 😭—hopefully someday I can make a homemade Korean meal for my cohort. As part of the program graduate assistant team, I arrived early to pick up the Peruvian chicken that IEDP ordered for the party.
5:00pm-8:00pm Juston, one of our IEDP 25-26 cohort, kindly shared his space at home for the party. Thankfully, a lot of people came over, which made the party feel lively, warm, and full of energy.
I personally loved the stir-fried eggplant dish, huge mac and cheese, and potato&meatball soup — how come everyone is so good at cooking?! Huge thanks to everyone who showed up with delicious food and even home-baked desserts—they were absolutely amazing.
An extra big thank-you to Lauren, our program manager, for ordering the Peruvian chicken for the cohort. Food truly brings people together, and this Friendsgiving was the perfect proof of that. We had so much fun playing games and laughing while sharing stories. It was such a wonderful time getting to know our cohort better.
And last but not least, thank you again to Juston for making this Friendsgiving possible by hosting us all! 💛🍽️✨
9:00pm – Bedtime October was not an easy time for me, and also the whole cohort. Thus, this party felt especially meaningful: it gave us a chance to truly come together, reconnect, and relieve stress. The food was amazing, made even better by the warmth and care my classmates put into it. By the end of the night, I felt like I could finally get a really good, deep sleep. I also took time to fill out my planner and write in my diary, which helped me slow down and feel calm before the day ended. Good Night! 💛
The International Educational Development Program 