Who are you? Why are you doing this?

Born in Washington, raised in Hawaii, college in Massachusetts, semester in D.C., summer in New York City, 3 years living and working in Rhode Island, currently back in Hawaii as a full time employee at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a part-time graduate student in the M.Ed. program in Education Administration with a focus in higher education. I do feel out of place and perhaps belong in more of an "educational foundations" or "education policy" program, but I've come to enjoy my classes and professors and think that might be enough to stay.

My passion within the field of education is the high school to college process and the college admission process. I am interested in the factors that influence college attendance including socioeconomic factors, race, family, counselors, school type, academic preparation, etc. The question I continually seek to answer in research papers for classes is: What students end up at which universities? The larger question being: What is the role of higher education in the nation? Social mobility vs. the perpetuation of social stratification. My lens is definitely from a sociological perspective as are most of the frameworks I enjoy working with. 

Other topics intrigue me such as student interaction and the role of technology on campus (internet, iPhones, etc.). Having graduated from a women's college, I am also always fascinated by women's roles in education - as teachers, professors, administrators, and their experiences in academia as a whole. I enjoy following the work of: Laura Perna, Jordan & Plank, Patricia McDonough, and Sara Goldrick-Rab among others.

I have aspirations of returning to the mainland to pursue a PhD in either educational sociology or the sociology of education.

YES BUT WHY BLOG?

I've recently uncovered a disk with academic work I've done ranging from my 8th grade science fair project to my whiny adolescent poetry, to my high school application essays for college, to my college papers. I've also recently discovered an old blog I kept from my first year of college up through the two years after I graduated from college. I realized that these discoveries are my personal history, records of the thoughts of a younger self (mostly academic, though some personal as well) and is something I'd like to continue doing.

I also hope that this can be used as a "creative" assignment for one of the classes I'm taking this semester, EDEA 646 The American College Student. Much of the reading is theoretical and I think a blog would serve as an excellent repository where I can:

1) Critique and reflect on class readings

2) Apply these theories to my life (past, present and maybe even future) and the world around me

3) Encourage my classmates, friends, and any strangers that happen upon my blog to engage in thoughtful discussion (after all, 2.5 hours of class time is hardly enough, right???)

I hope to hear from you!