Hey there, Gemstone! Most of you probably don't know me, but
my name is Jaishri. I graduated from UMD and Gemstone (Team SWAMP) in
2013 and promptly moved to South Carolina to join Teach for America. I'm
now in my second year as a TFA corps member, and I teach 8th grade
Science to a very energetic and dynamic group of young men and
women in Kingstree, South Carolina. I'm placed a very rural area at the
local middle school, and everyone in town knows me as the crazy 8th
grade Science teacher who loves turtles just a little too much...wonder
why...? ;)
While I was in Gemstone, I listened
to everyone around me tell me about how valuable team-building skills
and team dynamics would be in real life, what a great leadership
experience it would be, blah blah blah. I definitely heard them, and
sometimes listened, but I remember wondering how I could ever use any of
those skills in a classroom after graduation. At the risk of sounding
like one of those people who told me all through college...YOU USE THEM
EVERY SINGLE DAY. I know it seems weird to think about, but I walk into
my classroom every single day and rely on so many skills and experiences
from Gemstone. On my team, I implicitly became the person to keep us
organized, on-task, and on deadline...and that's carried over pretty
obviously into my classroom and teaching. What I didn't count on was the
importance of team-building and learning to work alongside others,
especially across lines of difference. I can't tell you the number of
times our team had late-night meetings, and the 14 of us would get into
heated arguments about things like protocols, APA citations, deadlines,
etc. Walking out wasn't really an option, and we weren't about to quit,
so we were forced to learn to work through things the good old-fashioned
way -- talking it out. That's been such a huge impact for me in the
classroom and outside the collegiate world. Every single day, I come
across people who differ from me -- my town is culturally and
religiously different from me, my students have different backgrounds
and experiences than I do, and being in education, I am eternally coming
across people who have different morals, values, and beliefs than I do.
What DOES stick out is a singular similarity - we're all working in
pursuit of our students' futures, and that common goal keeps us
grounded. Along the way, I can use some of those team-building and
leadership skills (courtesy of my team and Gems Camp!) to facilitate the
tough conversations and ease the tension with a classic Human Knot!
Okay,
I'm done telling you all about how useful Gemstone is. Yes, it's
useful. But the truth is...I miss it every single day! I miss the people
- my team, my mentors in 0100 Ellicott Hall, my fellow section leaders,
camp leaders, everybody! I miss running through Leah's office and
leaving a hot mess (think: rings on her desk from my 4th Starbucks iced
coffee of the day and crumbs from my Subway for lunch). I miss seeing my
GEMS100 freshmen once and week and reconnecting with why I was so
excited to be a part of Gemstone in the first place. I miss my GEMS102
project sheet experience from the section leader side of things,
especially getting to see the crazy innovation and deep thought that
went into each project. I miss walking around campus wearing my Gemstone
turtle shell sweatshirt (especially giving tours in it, because then,
everyone wants to know about Gemstone!). I miss the Honors College ice
cream socials, Dean Hebert's emails, GSC meetings, Gems Camp trainings,
GEMS CAMP, and just about everything in between.
It's
not all sad, though! One of my favorite parts about being an alum a bit
far from campus is that I get to hear about all the awesome stuff
happening in Gems via social media! I'm the one who started the Gemstone
Twitter (you can only imagine how much FUN it was to have control of
that Twitter and make some #researchismyJAM hashtags...), and I now
avidly stalk it and retweet it...from BOTH my Twitter accounts. Not at
all sorry about that. Funny enough, I also helped start the very blog
you're reading right now! I also stalk the Gemstone Facebook, plus I
stalk GSC, Leah, and Jessica Lee on Twitter...you get the point by now,
right? Here's what this all ultimately leads to: I may miss Gemstone,
and though I've moved on, what I learned will always be with me. The
best part about being an alum is being able to see the incredible work
the current student body is doing -- everything from those of you who
are killing it as Section Leaders and Camp Leaders to those of you
leading the charge for cohort culture as a part of GSC! My second
favorite part is hearing about all the incredible heights teams are
reaching, and how Gemstone's message is spreading across campus and
beyond. My ABSOLUTE favorite part is hearing from former Gems about
their experiences in the program and how they impacted them - Gems Camp
and the stand-ups, GEMS100 and the team-building, senior year and the
thesis experience, overachievers like Jessica Lee graduating from
Gemstone...and then RETURNING to Gemstone as staff!?!?!?! All these
pieces are what keep Gemstone near and dear, even though I'm almost 500
miles away. Keep doing what you're doing, and keep killing the game. The
going may get tough (read: you may be spending nights awake until 3am
to work on your thesis, the team you section lead for may be having
difficulty, your project may be falling through...), but I have
confidence that you'll see it through, with a little help from your
friends and biggest cheerleaders in 0100 Ellicott Hall! I'll keep
incessantly retweeting, favoriting, and liking every social media post I
can find (x2 because I have TWO Twitters!). I'm cheering for you all
every step of the way! Enjoy the final weeks of your spring semester,
and to the graduating class of spring 2015 especially: I miss you, and
good luck with thesis conference! When I'm home, you can probably find
me making a mess of Leah's AND Jessica's offices...some things will
never change.
All my Gems love,
Jaishri
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