Alas, its the last: Evaluation

Perfect chapter to end on. Especially since the night before this class we spent verbally and openly evaluating our 580 class.

I think we learned through reading this chapter and our short discussion in class the importance of evaluation. It's interesting though, I just read in an article for my 580 paper the other day that although 50% of college and universities report doing regular assessments and evaluations on university issues, only 15% report actually doing something with the results. There's so much out there to change and improve, if only people would actually take the time do go after those things, instead of creating the new thing that will, too, eventually need to be changed or improved.

Instead of evaluating this chapter, this class, or even AHRD, I choose to use this reflection time to evaluate myself & what I want. And through my reflection process I evaluated and assessed my needs to come to some pretty powerful realizations. This program is not for me, and with the help of one of the most amazing people I've met at JMU, I was able to figure this out before it was too late. So, instead of gutting it through this program for another year & a half, wishing someone else understood or could see eye to eye with me, I am transferring programs to what I should have been in from the very beginning: Campus Recreation & Leadership. The program was basically created for someone just like me, and I've fought its existence until now.

Some people may have seen me as having wasted a semester and actually a year, because I will still need to be at JMU another 2 years beginning in the fall of '08. But I'd rather pursue my passion then pursue someone else's and try to make it mine. Besides, in no way shape or form was this semester wasted. I was able to learn things I most likely would not have learned otherwise. I wouldn't have learned about improving performance issues or assessing needs. I wouldn't have met some of the great people I have met while in this program. Wouldn't have heard that Dr. H can cook duck, nor would I have known a crazy Russian who loves the color purple & occasionally leaves out an article, verb, or key concept, shzu kno vhat I'm sayin'? I wouldn't have learned that depression in the work place was actually a big deal or that flexpertise was a word. Learning that sugary drinks, popcorn, & chicken feet are part of the food pyramid wasn't on my original agenda either. Tar-zay is actually a technical term and ex-football players can contribute too... who knew! (JK Jason). I learned that there are a few other crazy folks from the mitten who have ventured down to the lover state & I've picked up on a few more good things to read, too. I figured out that even if the rabbit doesn't spin the way you want it too, there's always another alternative. Latinas are just as beautiful on the inside as they are out, even if they are the crowned champion procrastinator, and no matter your age, you too can be a life-longer learner. Off-roading on private property & creating nicknames like licky wouldn't have been a part of my life and neither would blogging, Wiki's, or Cmap. Never met someone with a fear of bananas & probably would have never seen the sphere. Getting a visual of Marcy Driscoll is priceless along with the insight from Swanson & Holton, two BBFs for life! Most of all, I never would have learned nor understood that there are so many passions out there, whether it be wanting to learn about women in the work place, kids & adults with ADHD, or wanting to get the absolute most out of education. Most importantly, I learned through this semester exactly what my passion was, and further that it is not in AHRD. My mentor said it best with, "Sometimes, the best thing about an experience is learning what you don't want, even if it means you don't learn what you do."

So on that note, thanks for reading, sharing a laugh or seven, and continuing my higher education learning, even if you didn't realize. Good luck AHRD & PEACE out!