Orientation is over

note: I wrote this yesterday (Friday) but didn't have a connection to post it until today. References to days are all a day off.

I had expected graduate orientation to be full of useful information, just like my undergrad orientation was 20 years ago. For the most part, it was not. There were two main points: don't cheat and maintain good academic standing. Perhaps the lack of other information was their way of letting us all know that it's all up to us to figure out how to make it go. While there are many people who are willing to help, they are all far to busy to ask us if we need assistance. If we do, it is up to us to seek them.

Yesterday (Thursday) was the general orientation. They told us a lot of things that seemed more to cover their checklist of things to be able to say they told us than information we needed in an immediate, practical sense. Need info on parking or getting a student ID? You can probably find it yourself if you ask around or check the website. I haven't handled my parking situation, but I know where to go Monday to get it sorted, which will be easier now that I have my school ID.

Today we had the Art orientation. This had a much different feel. It could be that there are only about 75 students total in the program, versus a few thousand total graduate students. There is a nice community atmosphere, but the thing that stood out to me was a statement one of the professors made: "This is not undergrad 2.0. This is a professional degree." We will be expected to work as hard at our artistic research as a student in any scientific field works. This is not a pass time, it is serious labor. Only those who treat it as such will succeed. It isn't a challenge meant to put us off. It is encouragement that we will succeed if our efforts are properly focused and our priorities thoughtfully considered.