Although I went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad where professor accessibility and close student and faculty interactions were flags that many smaller institutions proudly waved as a plus, in all honesty, I didn’t take advantage of those perks. So when I began to think about Harvard in it’s massive University infrastructure of 12 degree granting schools, I was worried that I was out of luck. Needless to say, my experience couldn’t be farther from the truth.
As a school within the larger University wide system, HGSE feels a lot smaller. While I’ve taken advantage of a wide array of opportunities that span the University, from events at the Kennedy School, student group meetings at the Business School, or to late-night studying at the College’s 24 hour Science Library, HGSE maintains a tight-knit community feeling with the professors playing a key role in cultivating that sense.
Here are just a few examples of how I’ve engaged with my professors:
At the beginning of the semester as I was just about to start my internship in downtown Boston at a tech start-up, I was confronted with a dilemma that put me in a predicament as to how to go about addressing it given my positionality and the timing. Dr. Mapp, who teaches Leadership in Social Change Organizations, allowed me to really examine the situation and analyze the various approaches I could have taken to deal with my issue. Through her office hours, I was able to continue the conversations we had been having in class and workshop how to apply the content material to my real world problem! Although, Dr. Mapp is incredibly busy as a practitioner-scholar herself, she has been one of the most accessible and encouraging professors I’ve had in my whole educational experience. She was invested in getting to know me and how my experience in the classroom was informing my world outside. In the end, I was able to successfully tackle my issue in a win-win way and was elated to be able to share that with Dr. Mapp cheering me along.
Another Professor interaction worth highlighting has been with Dr. McCarthy whose module on the Art of Communication for Educators I took for the first half of the semester. From the get-go, Dr. McCarthy primed and modeled what he expected of us in his classroom, while many of us were trying to tackle our own fears and challenges with public speaking. In modeling vulnerability, Dr. McCarthy truly cultivated the classroom space as a learning community worth investing in. As a professor who also taught across the schools, (the College, HKS, HBS, AND HGSE), Dr. McCarthy always found time to connect with his students beyond the class and content. For example, even though his posted office hours were during my other classes, he made accommodations to meet outside them, agreeing to meet with me on a Sunday evening! He also invites his students to participate in the community events he is a part of. These positive and affirming interactions with Dr. McCarthy were really important as they encouraged me to push myself in the class personally and intellectually. He had an invested interest in getting to know his students’ stories and as such allowed me to tap into myself to really give myself fully and take rewarding risks in the classroom.
Lastly, I’d be remiss if I did not shout-out to all the professional staff that are key players in making sure we students are getting the most of our time at HGSE in and out of the classroom. One in particular is Tracie Jones, the Assistant Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion Programs housed in the Student Affairs Office. Along with others in that Office, Tracie serves as a critical bridge between students, faculty, and administrators. Tracie is an advisor to the Equity Fellows Program of which I am a part of, and she has been instrumental in offering her wisdom to me when I wasn’t quite sure how to go about initiating an interaction with a particular professor. Given her deep wealth of knowledge of all things HGSE, Tracie was able to counsel me and give me productive ways to shed my reluctance to go see a professor over office hours as well as point me towards the right professor that aligned with my professional and intellectual interests. Tracie is always ready to lend an ear and offer advice in the chaos of all the events happening and going through the OSA. Much of the seeds of my positive professor interactions were sowed with the help of Tracie.
If you’re thinking about HGSE and professor relations is something that is important to you, I hope my brief insight illustrates the incredible support network and culture that exists to encourage student-professor relationships. Professors at HGSE are at the forefront of much of the research and practice in the field of education and to be able to engage with them has been a huge part of my overall experience thus far.
Blog written by Dan Manuyag. Photos provided by Dan Manuyag.
Aloha! I’m Dan and come to HGSE from Honolulu, Hawai`i where I was most recently working as a college counselor supporting high school students in their post-secondary endeavors. Before that, I worked in Higher Ed Admissions. As a student in the Education Policy and Management Program at HGSE, I am cultivating my leadership skills while exploring different sectors within the field of Education to figure out how I can make the most impact. Throughout my career, I have been committed to supporting and working alongside underrepresented students, particularly within Native communities and the first-gen. My undergrad studies was in Gender Studies with a concentration in Labor and Economics. Since then, much of my professional and personal interests has been informed by my commitment to social justice. When I’m not studying, serving the community as one of the Equity Fellows, or attending speaker events across campus, I enjoy community building through arts & culture and the outdoors.
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