Today marks the end of my postings on the Norwich University blog at eLearners.  In the next few days, I will begin my new blog that will focus on my next “adventure in education” as I earn my Doctor of Business Administration at Walden University.  I have already enrolled and begin classes on June 29.   As I write this, that is a mere six hours away.  Even though I have not done any work, there is already a lot to write.

I want to close out this final post on my Norwich blog with the following statement:

When I decided to go to graduate school, the word “Norwich” had never crossed my mind or my lips.  Living a few thousand miles away from Vermont, I believe that I have a valid excuse.  I already had my choice of schools narrowed down to three and Norwich was not one of them.

Then I received an email informing be about Norwich.  After doing some investigating, I signed up for the MBA program.  Being a school that was nearly 200 years old, I knew the education I would receive would be of high quality.  I was not disappointed.  The 18 months I spent in that program was more challenging than four years of undergraduate work.  Moreover, the residency program at the end was an event that made it all worth it.

During this adventure, I met some of the most interesting people and learned things that I do not know that I would have been exposed to at another institution.  Everyone on the faculty, administration, student body and ever nook and cranny of Norwich has been a pleasure to work with.  

The visit to Vermont was something I will never forget!  I have lived in the city and in the country.  I have seen mountains and desert.  Nevertheless, I can honestly say that Vermont is unique in a way that I cannot explain.  It is a beautiful, humble place that I will visit in the future.

Now I am on to other challenges.  Of the three schools I will have attended when I graduate with my D.B.A., I will only wear the Norwich ring.  I will look back at Norwich as my most memorable experience.

Norwich Forever!

It has only been a week since I walked across the stage and received my diploma from Norwich University.  In that short time, I am itching to get back in the game.  I said in my last post that I would have a decision about the next step in my journey soon.  But it will not be in this post, unfortunately.

I spent the better part of the day looking at my options.  After weeding out a lot of those, I have narrowed them down to the D.B.A. (Doctor of Business Administration) from Walden University and the M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.  

I spent a lot of time on the phone today with the nice folks at Capella University and Walden.  I got a lot of information about the programs.  I really think that I have completely abandoned the PhD idea.  The cost (no matter where you go) is huge.  On top of that, I am looking at another four years to complete it.  While I do want to go back to school, I do not want to do four more years.  Three is my maximum at this point.  

Both the D.B.A. from Walden and the M.A. from Gonzaga both have objectives that really appeal to me in a big way.  Moreover, the Walden option has textbooks built into the cost.  I know that seems somewhat trivial to some, but knowing that I do not have to go purchase books on my own is a big plus.  That is the way it was at Kaplan and Norwich.  It is what I am used to.  

I will be making a decision by Monday.  I believe both programs have start dates that grow closer by the day.  I do not recall the research and decisions about my MBA being this difficult.  But maybe I have a short memory.  
 

It is the end of another long day.  I did not write yesterday because by the time I got back to the dorms, I had just enough energy to shower and crawl into bed.  They are indeed keeping us busy here.  We are also eating like pigs.  The cafeteria-style dining facility is great.  I need to get one of those for the house.  I am really surprised that I am not 500lbs by now.  But I digress.

Yesterday, we took a tour of Rock of Ages.  This is a company that mines granite and transforms it into many products.  Do a Google search for more info on them.  I took some great photos of the largest hole in the ground I have ever seen.  I will post them next week.  We also had some other events scheduled in the morning and in the evening.  They were more for fun than any academic purpose.  But a good time was had by all.

Today was graduation rehearsal day.  We also attended a ceremony where we were hooded by the leadership at the school.  It was a great moment.  It was the next to last activity before graduation.  That comes Friday morning.  Everybody is anxious in anticipation of graduation.  We are also ready to move on with life.  We have all had a great time.  Now we want to go do something with our degrees.  Being part of the Norwich family and carrying on that tradition is important.

I have met a lot of great people here.  I have enjoyed the scenery.  It is like nothing else I have ever seen.  It makes me want to come back at some point just to visit.  I am also seriously considering taking a certificate course from Norwich so that I can obtain teaching credentials.  But that is a discussion for another day.

Graduation comes early.  Need to sleep!