Program Reflection
This Pathway Reflection Essay portrays the experiences and knowledge that I have gained in the Pathway Program and how it will benefit me during my full time graduate study at George Mason University. As an international student in the United States, I was new to the western culture and to the university life here. There are a lot of conventions that I did not know about. For example, I was unaccustomed to the notion of making prior appointments to meet with a faculty. “Americans tend to consider their time to be their time” [1] and thus it is expected of us to respect their time; make appointments well in advance.
In retrospect, I don’t see myself as someone who was bad at written and spoken English. Although, I can say that the numerous writing assignments in the EAP-508 course have ameliorated my analytical writing skills. Following the rules of fair writing and avoiding plagiarism as described in [2] gave me an understanding and realization of the gravity of importance of plagiarism in a western academic setting.
The PROV-504 class has been very helpful in teaching the various aspects of graduate study in a western environment such as—time management, plan of study, avoiding plagiarism in academic writing, giving a presentation and building a professional & academic portfolio. According to [3], the skills needed to succeed are—courage, spoken English, critical thinking and taking notes. I tend to incorporate these facets in my approach to complete my graduate study at George Mason University.
I believe the knowledge that I have gained from the Accelerated Pathway Program will benefit me immensely during my two year tenure of graduate study, and thus open a world of bright opportunities in my professional career in the future.
References
[1] N. Gros, “Communication strategies for international graduate students: surviving and thriving in american academia” pp 8, 2011.
[2] K. Hjortshoj, “The transition to college writing”, vol. 2, pp pp 183, 2009.
[3] W. Badke, “Beyond the Answer Sheet: Academic Success for International Students”, pp 16-25, 2003.