Last week, I met fellow IEDP classmate Alice over chai lattes to initially talk about minimalism, a way of thought that both she and I have been exploring for some time. As the contents of our mugs slowly disappeared, the conversation naturally veered into many avenues. One such avenue was the traps we tend to fall into in academia, whether one is a student or … Continue reading The ills of academia

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I and 7 other IEDPers met at the Mill Creek Rec Center in West Philly to help clean up its inside and schlack a fresh coat of paint on its walls. (Believe me–or the photos–but it was much needed; that yellow/brown combination had to go.) We were joined by some Penn Law students and bonded over TfA … Continue reading A day of service

The spring semester has officially begun, and, after being sick for most of my break (sad face), I’m more than ready to get back into the swing of things here at Penn and IEDP. Here’s my schedule for the spring: Proseminar Indigenous Education and Language Revitalization Advanced Principles in Monitoring and Evaluation Qualitative Modes of Inquiry Social Enterprise Models and Social Impact Locally and Globally … Continue reading Back to school, back to school…

Part of my responsibilities as a GA (which I alluded to in a previous post), is acting as the videographer for the program. My main duty as videographer is filming the IEDP Lecture Series, which brings in outside experts and/or persons of interest to speak to IEDP students about relevant topics in development. While more sporadic in the fall, in the spring we have a … Continue reading IEDP through videos

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… The end of the semester! Let’s not comment on how quickly the semester has gone (but really); rather, let’s celebrate it with a look at how we brought the fall semester to a close. Technical Proposals For Proseminar, our major project of the semester was a technical proposal. As I have mentioned before, this was a group project … Continue reading Fall semester wrap-up

Today’s post comes Evan Jansen, another member of IEDP and a fellow GA. He discusses some of the challenges our cohort has faced this semester as well as his position as his position as the GA Events Coordinator. He’s also got an amazing blog that you should check out.   Around this time a three years ago I was living in rural Thailand undertaking my initial efforts … Continue reading Creating spaces

Well, this month has certainly turned out to be… challenging. With the election results occupying everyone’s minds, rightfully causing us to question our safety, worry about family and friends’ safety, and even making us wonder what the future of our work will look like. I don’t think there is anyone in the program who is satisfied with the outcome, and it has all but magnified … Continue reading IEDP Friendsgiving

Pretty much. My reticence on this blog has been the main factor in why you’re not getting a post every single day, but this isn’t revolutionary information. Graduate students are busy, and IEDP isn’t a cake walk. That all being said, let me share with you some fun things that are occupying my time: Meeting Harry Potter at his eponymous festival at Chestnut Hill. (Seriously, this … Continue reading All I do is work, work, work

Communitanitos of penals Comtittities Technical proposals are fun, especially when you work on them later at night. For Proseminar, our major assignment is a technical proposal, which essentially is a large-scale document that lists and defines the requirements of a project, and explains the approach and plan formulated to address them. Earlier in October, Dr. GK made everyone choose a region they wanted (yours truly went … Continue reading The words you come up with in technical proposals