Grabbing dinner between classes with Aanchal

Aanchal’s current location: Siliguri, West Bengal, India Time Zone: 9.5 hours ahead of Philadelphia Managing work and classes in different time zones seems to be interesting and taxing at the same time. Having been a teacher for the past few years in a boarding school where I used to eat breakfast with my students everyday at 7:00am, it feels a little weird to start school … Continue reading Grabbing dinner between classes with Aanchal

Reflecting on the first month of classes…

Hi all. I cannot believe September has come to an end, which means I have completed my first month in the IEDP! As we say in Spanish: ¡Guau! I decided to only take 3 courses this semester (two core* classes and a quantitative elective) due to two reasons. First, I wanted to learn about the different focus areas within the educational development field through the … Continue reading Reflecting on the first month of classes…

Lena’s Lens

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

First week of remote learning!

My current location: Houston, Texas. As I mentioned in my first blog, I received my acceptance to IEDP in December of 2019! I was really relieved that I had a lot of time to prepare for the big move to Philadelphia. I was going to have eight months to look for a nice, affordable apartment, cool roommates, and a llama bedding set. Those were my … Continue reading First week of remote learning!

My application journey

Hola prospective applicants! My name is Leslie and I will manage the IEDP student blog this year. I can’t believe I have finally started my master’s at UPenn! Although we currently live in a time of great uncertainty and virtual meetings, it’s been great to meet my classmates from all around the world and to start my first semester of graduate school. A little bit … Continue reading My application journey

Internship in the eyes of a pandemic beholder

The city and beyond Get ready to go bananas. Would I ever have thought that there would be a bigger twist in the story? Absolutely not, but always delighted by and spiced with the surprises in my life. March turned out to be a rollercoaster after all. Except for the ambulance siren sound at least 5 times a day, the sound of silence around the world … Continue reading Internship in the eyes of a pandemic beholder

Internship in the eyes of a Washingtonian

The city and beyond Two months in D.C. got me thinking that this capital city is very much like the capital of my home country, Ankara, Turkey. The flow of cars, people dressed up in formal wear going to work and leaving work around the same time, monuments and memorials, many government buildings, and offices have evoked the memories of my monotonous year in Ankara. … Continue reading Internship in the eyes of a Washingtonian

Internship in the eyes of a tourist

The city and beyond My second time in D.C. takes me back to the time when I first visited the city precisely ten years ago. The time when the weather was cold but my heart as immensely warm. I feel like the city hasn’t changed at all. Maybe, because the museums stayed in the same places? Voila! After the three-hour ride, I had my tourist … Continue reading Internship in the eyes of a tourist

Journey to IEDP 2.4: Finding “The One”

The Journey to IEDP series was created to give readers an understanding of the myriad experiences that have led us to the IEDP. For prospective students, we hope to answer questions of how and why we decided to come to the IEDP, what the decision-making process of applying to and deciding among offers was like, and how the IEDP has aligned with our goals and … Continue reading Journey to IEDP 2.4: Finding “The One”

Journey to IEDP 2.3: What’s Your Purpose?

The Journey to IEDP series was created to give readers an understanding of the myriad experiences that have led us to the IEDP. For prospective students, we hope to answer questions of how and why we decided to come to the IEDP, what the decision-making process of applying to and deciding among offers was like, and how the IEDP has aligned with our goals and … Continue reading Journey to IEDP 2.3: What’s Your Purpose?