Ahila - thank you for the warm welcome!
Mon Mon - it was nice to hear about the New Year in Myanmar.
Wow, where to begin. Well as a number of you know, I successfully completed my doctorate last year and am now teaching at UNF in Jacksonville, Florida. So, instead of frequenting campuses with feral cats (UH) and rolling mountains (ETSU), I am surrounded by geese (see below). Pictured below (picture 2) is a goose that just gave birth to an adorable bunch of goslings. I tried to get a close up but papa goose was not having it - he actually started charging me as I got closer!
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| Geese Takeover! |
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| Can you give my lady some privacy? My woman just gave birth! |
Currently, school is out for summer and as such campus is rather quite these days. Given that I am not teaching in the first summer session, I have some time to work on course preparations, research, and travel. My week thus far has consisted of attending instructor workshops on how to convert face-to-face courses into online formats and learning how to successfully redesign a course for better student learning outcomes. I almost feel like I'm a graduate student again with my reading lists and assignments but this time I really appreciate being in this space of the instructional designer behind the learning experience.
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| College of Health |
When I think about my APLP days I realize how much of the curriculum has had an impression on me (second to the great people I met of course!). What struck me the most about the APLP curriculum was the opportunity for us to go out in a new context to test the information gained in the classroom to different cultural settings. I will never forget my experiences in China, from hiking part of the Himalayas as part of the fab four (shout out to Dina, Megan & Rangi) to meeting the various entrepreneurs and thought leaders at the round table sessions were such fun and insightful times.
It is in this spirit of experiential learning, I applied for a study abroad development grant through current university to take a group of students Geneva Switzerland next year. I chose Switzerland because it home to some of the world's most influential public health and social justice organizations in the world. Not only do I want students to be immersed in one of the world's hubs for public health leadership but also I want them to be able to interact in a different culture. Ultimately, I hope to inspire and challenge students to tackle public health problems locally but also to think about how they can work towards improving health on a global scale. Next week, I will head to Geneva to start planning this trip!
In terms of life in Jacksonville outside of school, things are going well. I love Florida weather, it sure beats Canadian climes at this time of year! I am also slowly adjusting to the area and I've made some really good friendships so far. I am still trying to keep active in sports by playing recreational soccer. For today's blog post I leave you with a picture from a marina that I pass by on the way to my soccer games.
'Til next time!
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| Marina in St. Johns County |
