During my fall semester, I was both a full-time student and a research assessor at CPRE. I was very eager about my position and getting experience in data collection. Because we were working with Philadelphia School District, our schedule was very concrete. We dedicated two days of the week to being in schools, assessing students, and returning to the office to input/record data. For your...
Birdiana Rodriguez
Education Policy, M.S.Ed.
Sociology, B.A, Duke UniversityHello and welcome to my blog. I’m from Los Angeles, CA and I’m a master’s candidate in the Education Policy program at Penn GSE.
My favorite thing to do is go on a tour (walking, train, or trolley) of murals around Philadelphia. The Mural Arts Program has weekly tours that students can get tickets for at a discounted price. All profits are invested in funding more murals around communities. You'll get both a historical tour of Philadelphia neighborhoods and see wonderful pieces of art up close.
Why Penn? I wanted to be surrounded by professors whose work was in Philadelphia and in communities I wanted to impact. My advisor calls his research “actionable work” and that’s what mattered to me. Penn is a place where what I read, do, write, and learn has a bigger purpose: to be put to work. And that’s what Penn does.
Posts by Birdiana Rodriguez
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
I visited every institution that I applied to. This was something I did when I applied to undergrad institutions and it served me well in deciding which institutions feltlike the right fit. There were institutions that on paper (or now, online) sounded like great fits, but visiting left me with a different idea. As I walked onto Penn’s campus, on a rainy Saturday in March, I looked around to...
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
7:00 –Wake Up, Check Email
7:30 –Make Breakfast, Pack Lunch & Snacks
7:45 –Hair, Makeup, Outfit (Make sure you’re warm if it’s past October!)
8:15 –Leave for class (if you’re using public transit, make sure you leave some wiggle room for late buses/trains!)
9:00 –Intro to Stats
11:30 –Decompress with friends about class, likely over coffee, a trip to Spread...
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
I am so glad that I listened to all the former students that told me to take History of American School Reform with Dr. Jon Zimmerman. One, how cool is that last name? Two, do you know the history of public education in the United States and the reforms taking place since Antebellum? Yeah, I didn’t either. But, I wasn’t the only one that heard that Dr. Zimmerman was a cool professor. Day 1 –...
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
There are going to be so many options and such little time. At the beginning of the fall semester, expect to get a Program of Study for Education Policy. If you’re impatient like me, you can attempt to Google search for a program of study and get an idea of what courses will be offered in your program and during which semesters. From your undergraduate experience, you may already know to find...
Friday, September 1, 2017
Looking for coffee? The choices are endless. Personally, I’m a huge for of the GSE Café coffee options. And, they’re rather cost-friend. Needless to say, convenient. If you’re a Starbucks fan, there’s one on every corner. If you’re willing to venture out a little, Joe’s Coffee on Drexel’s side of town serves a nice cup of coffee and so does Green Line Café on 40th street. Food options are also...
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
I moved to Philadelphia a month before school started and I had visited twice since being admitted so, needless to say, I was really excited about moving to Philadelphia! I moved from Durham, NC where I did my undergrad at Duke and then taught for four years. Born and raised in Los Angeles, you would think I would have no problem adjusting to living in a big city again, but LA, Durham, and...