Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephanie Cutler, Virginia Tech; Walter Curtis Lee Jr., Virginia Tech; Lisa D. McNair, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

gradingif they worked as GTAs. They also talked about including social time and family time in theirdemanding schedules. Basically, the students found it challenging “to make it all work.”The challenge of choosing an advisor was also more complex than expected. One studentsummed up the process as an overwhelming task to accomplish in one semester: I need to [find a faculty member that I will] be able to work well with and they should have similar research interests to me. I need to figure out who this person is, what I'd like to research, and talk to them about performing this research during my graduate lifetime.One student agreed, saying that it’s “extremely tough” to identify the right advisor and that“you’re not sure if you’re still in

Conference Session

Graduate Student Experience

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kacie Caple D'Alessandro, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Graduate Studies, Student

GraduateCertificate[5] and the Future Professoriate Graduate Certificate[6] programs at Virginia Tech.These programs are designed to prepare graduate students for a future career in academia byexamining topics in higher education. I found these courses very helpful in preparing me forteaching and mentoring. Since I was teaching while taking some of these courses, I was able toimmediately integrate some of this new knowledge into the classroom. If you are passionateabout becoming an effective teacher, seek out opportunities to learn about practical methods ofmanaging a course, from assessment design to teaching practices in the classroom. If you do nothave access to courses in higher education, seek out advice from faculty members you respect.In my case, I