Although Bridget Terry Long has been a staple here at HGSE for almost 20 years, the 2018-2019 school year is her first as Dean. As part of the schools’ emphasis on community and engagement, she hosts a series of Brown Bag Lunches throughout the school year. These lunches always fill up quickly, and I feel lucky to have snagged a spot for the first one of spring semester. These lunches are capped at ten students for a reason– Dean Long wants the opportunity to chat with current masters and doctoral students in an intimate and casual environment. The group I enjoyed lunch with included three Ed.M students (from programs like Arts in Education, International Education Policy, and Higher Education), as well as 3 first-year ED.L.D students, and a researcher at Making Caring Common.
As a student in the higher education program, I knew of Dean Long for her class on the economics of higher education, but it was a valuable and unique experience to hear her perspective as a higher education administrator. This casual environment (with cookies, of course) gave students a chance to ask Dean Long any questions that were on their mind. We talked about everything from leadership and governance, to her vision for HGSE, and the legacy that she wants to leave behind. One theme we touched on was her desire to be more transparent about the teacher training that is going on at HGSE. She said although we have amazing professors here, we can always do better. She wants to support faculty members in improving the ways they teach and communicate with students.
Other than listening to the wisdom of Dean Long, I loved that this lunch gave me the opportunity to meet and connect with students outside of my cohort. There was a mix of doctoral and masters students, each with different backgrounds and aspirations. Students addressed Dean Long with very specific questions, but also built upon what other colleagues were interested in. Listening to the questions of my colleagues inspired me to think about my own educational pathway.
In a place like Harvard that can sometimes seem intimidating, these casual lunches serve as a reminder that we are all just people trying to make the world a better place through education. Want some proof? Check out the selfie that we took with Dean Long at the conclusion of our lunch!
Blog written by Jaime Morgen. Photos provided by Jaime Morgen.
My name is Jaime Morgen and I am part of the higher education cohort here at HGSE, as well as one of the four graduate assistants in the HGSE admissions office. I graduated from Tufts University in 2014 with degrees in English, psychology, and entrepreneurial leadership. Immediately after graduating, I joined the office of undergraduate admissions first as an admissions counselor, and later as an assistant director of admissions. During my four years in the office, I managed our alumni interviewing program, coordinated events, and managed all print publications. Now that I have stared my graduate studies, I am excited to finally be taking classes relating to higher education and be surrounded by talented, intelligent, and genuine individuals who share similar interests.
HGSE Admissions Blog 