Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is being treated well by Pisces season! I know this season has gone pretty well for me actually and I hope many others can relate 🙂

I love to reflect on my progress as a student because, well, my life has been nothing but academia these last (six) years. I sometimes can’t believe it’s been so long.

As I reflect, I am recognizing that if there is ~anything~ I learned in undergrad, is that there is so much power and opportunity in not being 100% certain about something. I know a lot of people may disagree, and maybe rightfully so, but personally, not knowing all the facts and not knowing every aspect of whatever it may be, has always been a positive experience for me; at least, that has been my perspective.

For instance, this MSW program at Stan State.  I know I enrolled at Stan State because I wanted to be pragmatic and go with the option that presented the best deal for me (proximity to home/financial aid/mentoring/class size/program mission/etc.). However, I also know I chose Stan State because there was some degree of uncertainty to it. I knew very little of Stan State as university, and even less of the MSW program.

I went on the program website,  and even tried to find Facebook groups pertaining to the MSW program, and didn’t gather what I was necessarily looking for. Now that I’m a semester invested into the program, I realize that that uncertain, unfound “thing” was something I needed to create for myself, and Stan State has provided me the tools and confidence to do just that.

When I say there is power in uncertainty, I am not saying do not follow your intuition or gut feelings. I am saying that the uncertainty one feels, especially at it pertains to university enrollment, could be a possible avenue for growth and development.

The uncertainty I felt towards the MSW program at Stan State truly was the result of me not believing that I could be successful in a program I knew very little about. Now that I have completed a semester, started working with faculty on research, and in the next few days will submit my application for the California Pre-Doctoral Program, I can truly say that the uncertainty was exactly what I needed to grow as a student.

As undergrad and graduate admissions roll out, I hope anyone facing even the slightest form of uncertainty towards a university, including Stan State, takes it as a sign to explore and discover something new. I know I did and so far it has worked out pretty well! 🙂

Hi everyone!

I’m currently in Phoenix, Arizona! I flew into Mexico City this weekend  and my flight back to California required a quick layover in Phoenix. The airport here in Phoenix has some big chain restaurants so I ~feel~ like I’m back in the U.S. but it won’t feel like home until I come across that one famous fast food restaurant Californias mentions every few days. (Thankfully Stan State is located only down the street from one *win win*)

Although I flew into Mexico City for nothing school related, all I could do while in Mexico was think about school. From assignments, to upcoming projects, to wondering if I read the right chapter for my Monday morning policy class… school consumed a lot of my thinking this weekend.

However stressful it may sound, I surprisingly don’t feel *stressed* and I think I owe it to my professors. Before flying out, I informed them that I planned on leaving to Mexico for a few days and would be back the upcoming week. I don’t like to miss class, ever, but they assured me if that did happen, they’d be more than willing to help me catch up. I simply communicated with them my plans incase “life happened” and delayed my flight or canceled it altogether while in Mexico or Phoenix.

Thankfully everything so far is going according to plan, and having my professors’ support helps me feel remain calm, especially in hectic environments like airports. Their support also reminds me of the importance of communication. Had I not approached them and informed them of my plans, I would probably be stressed out right now about making it to class tomorrow (Monday) or getting assignments in. Thankfully that is not the case.

When I was an undergrad, I never communicated anything non-academic with my professors. School was one thing, everything else another, at least that’s how I viewed it. Now that I’m in the MSW program, this is not the case; and I’m thankful to be in a program at a university that recognize the nuances that is life and never makes me feel as though I need to focus solely on one thing (school) in order to be successful. At Stan State, in the MSW program,  I feel like I can do school and a bunch of other things and never have to compromise my interests. It’s all about time management and prioritization, and encouraging instructors make things feel much more manageable and less daunting. I’m grateful.

Hi friends!

Spring 2020 is in full effect! This is my second semester of graduate school in the master of social work (MSW) program and so far, it’s going pretty well 🙂

Some new and exciting things that I’m partaking in this semester include serving as a blogger with the admissions office, and applying to PhD (student support) programs. (I can’t believe this is going on!)

During undergrad, I never thought of myself as being PhD caliber. In fact, I avoided the idea of a PhD because the thought of pursuing a doctoral degree was nerve wrecking. A PhD program is essentially a lot of statistics, research, and more research. Depending on the type of program, of course, as this could vary. But for the most part, that is what encompasses a PhD program.

I’ve taken statistics and research methods courses during undergrad and they were… not fun… but for whatever reason, the statistics and research methods courses I am taking as part of the MSW program here at Stan have galvanized me; and I no longer fear those classes. In fact… they’re my favorite topics this semester.

Going from an anxious, intimidated student to a more confident one did not happen over night. This internal change is in huge part due to the professors I’ve met at Stan State. I’ve been gifted with the opportunity to meet some very knowledgeable and established faculty from the MSW program and I am beyond grateful. They’ve not only encouraged me to see myself as a fully capable future PhD student and researcher but to also recognize that my goals are not only possible, but extremely realistic.

I never had this experience or interaction with professors at my undergrad, a large school in Southern California. I often times wish I did as that would have made things much more clearer for me, but everything happens for a reason, and I am lucky enough to have that now.

I know if I wasn’t at Stan State at this point in my life, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have been afforded; but the universe has given me a chance and I have them now, and I am enjoying every moment of them, all on the road to the PhD.

Hello all! 🙂

Thank you for coming onto my blog! The internet is a big world! Somehow, some way, the universe decided that we had to cross paths; and now we’re here, so let’s break the ice so we can get to all the tea on CSU Stan!

My name’s Manny and I am a graduate student at CSU Stanislaus in the Master of Social Work program (*balloon emoji*)!

I am a Central Valley native at the core and sometimes can’t believe that as the first person in my family to go to college, I am now a graduate student, and at a university that does nothing but support all my endeavors! What seems like not too long ago, I was a high school senior having to answer the big question everyone wanted to know: What’s Next?

Well, truth be told, 17 year old me struggled to answer that, especially as a first generation college student, but fast forward a few years since then and I am  now a student at Stan State!

Welcome to my blog, I’m excited to provide even the smallest of glimpses into life as a student at this unique university!!