Hi prospective IEDPers! My name is Sam Nguyen. I’m a dual degree student in IEDP and Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) at the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) at Penn. I’m happy to share my experience as a dual degree student, especially as application deadlines are fast approaching. What is the dual degree application process like?Although there are a range of dual degree options available … Continue reading Diving Into A Dual Degree
Jesus “Louie” Zuniga flaunted his boots and cowboy hat during a recitation hour session where we shared something about our backgrounds with the rest of the cohort. Houston, Texas, is home to him. Growing up in a large metropolis got him curious about different people, languages, and cultures. It probably explains why he chose to study a year abroad in Brazil as an economics and … Continue reading Wall Street to Walnut Street: Louie Zuniga, Coverdell Fellow
Chiara is a first-year IEDP student from Northern California, United States. She is interested in inclusive education and early childhood development In February 2021, I received an email with this subject heading: “Congratulations on Being Accepted to Penn GSE – International Educational Development Program (IEDP)!” I was sitting in my living room and, if I’m being completely honest, I was checking my email every 10 … Continue reading What to Expect When You’re Accepting?
Just a couple of months ago I made the move from the four walls of my parent’s home in Pune, India, to being within the four walls of the unit I share with my classmates in Philadelphia, PA. Why I chose to move countries this Spring despite another virtual semester still perplexes my parents. But as some of you reading this would understand, pandemic or not, I’d rather be as close … Continue reading Across the Atlantic: Tips from my move
Hi all. For the blog post for this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wamweni. Last semester, Wamweni and I spent many many hours on Zoom working on our group technical proposals, so it was great to be able to learn about her experiences outside of class. Below are the main highlights of our conversation: Leslie: Can you tell us a little a bit … Continue reading Wamweni’s Words of Wisdom
Kako is in her last semester of the IEDP. She is currently living in Fukui, Japan. The time difference between Fukui and Philadelphia meant that I had to wake up really early (for a Sunday) and she had to stay up late for us to be able to have this conversation. However, we had a great time chatting and I am happy to share the … Continue reading Kako’s Knowledgeable Decisions
Hi everyone! For today’s blog post, I had the opportunity to ask Amy Liang a couple of questions about her journey to the IEDP. Amy is the Graduate Assistant in charge of the IEDP’s Instagram (follow it!) and the monthly newsletter. Leslie: Can you tell me a little bit about your background? Amy: I’m a born and raised New York City native, and I went … Continue reading Amy’s Adventures: A Community Health Volunteer’s Journey into Ed
“If we are facing in the right direction, all we need to do is keep walking.” Buddhist Proverb México I was born and raised in Mérida, Yucatán. I finished high school and started studying business administration in my hometown. In my second year of studies, as I went along with a “normal life” in my social context, I realized that I was facing the wrong … Continue reading Ricardo’s Road to Penn
My background My path to IEDP was a bit unconventional. For one thing, my undergraduate degree was in classical music. For another, I received that degree twenty years ago. It was a winding road that brought me here, but I couldn’t be happier with my decision. For the past fifteen years I’ve worked in standardized test prep, both as a teacher and teacher trainer. I … Continue reading A long and winding road
Hi all! For the blog this week, I interviewed Lena Novak, one of the first IEDP students I talked to! Throughout the summer we chatted a little bit about our interests and her adventurous road trip from California to Pennsylvania. Lena is also the Graduate Assistant (GA) in charge of the IEDP facebook and twitter pages so be sure to follow them to stay updated … Continue reading Lena’s Lens
The International Educational Development Program 