@labegg seems like just yesterday that the search for a DPT program was so important. Our kids are finding their way but there are some twists and turns in the road.
Changes here as well. DS has added a business minor with his engineering major. At least if he does invent anything he will have some idea how to make money off of his great idea!
@BingeWatcher the number one reason, I donât think her heart was never in PT to begin withâŠI think she wanted to make her Dad happy/proud, and know she was going to make a decent wage.
I am not at all surprised that she switched. For her teaching and PT are not all that dissimilar, she had always intended to focus on pediatric PT (not sports med) because she wanted to help/work with kids. But, yes there is an overlap of classes and biology was the best use of already completed work.
She would, most likely, have liked to switch to music education, but Marquette does not offer music as a major. Technically the new degree is: Secondary Education Broad Field Sciences emphasis on Biology. So she will be taking biology, chemistry and physics classes, so she could be hired to teach any but the emphasis is on biology. She is still a music minor and I suspect she will return to school at somepoint and incorporate music education somehow.
Thank you @labegg for the reply. I am glad she is choosing what she wants to do for a career! Best of luck to her!
@labegg music education could also be part of her life through volunteer commitments. It is great for our kids to have things that fulfill them and/or things that pay the bills!
I have a relative that taught, then went into education administration, and sung at weddings on weekends, but her greatest joy was leading the childrenâs choir at her church. So music education was not her 9-5 job but she was involved in it in a fun way.
@labegg
having an interest and education in music could definitely help her land a job in education. In the public schools my kids have attended, they give hiring preference to teachers who are willing to help with an extracurricular activity. The performing arts program in our school district is highly valued by the administration and our band has won the national high school competition many times. However, they also have a strong orchestra, choir, competitive dance team, and guard (the ppl who twirl the flags- not sure what it is called).
I changed my major many times in college and was considering teaching at one time. One thing to be aware of is that public schools prefer to hire teachers who have the minimum required education because the teacherâs union typically has a salary chart where salary is tied to years of education and the school districts face budget issues (they want to higher at the lower end of the pay scale). So, it is generally best to further oneâs education after landing the teaching job, rather than before.
Not sure if this would work or not, but I think that if an education major had some extra credit hours they could take because they easily fulfilled their majorâs requirements, maybe they could take additional coursework that could be used to later fulfill a Masterâs degree - without actually being conferred the degree. SHe should try to get her hands on the chart to determine if they count any such courses taken while getting a BS towards the negotiated salary rate.
@momofsmartdancer Thank you for the intel!
@Cheeringsection you are right and volunteering etc I am certain she will offer piano lessons at somepoint!
@labegg Not to derail your D, but what about music therapy?
Good suggestion @mommdc! MU does not offer that either. We looked into it initially, before she picked PT, and she isnât particularly an âindependentâ musical person (she doesnât sing or compose) which seems key to that career, so she decided it wasnât the best fit. Unfortunately, she does not want to transfer unive either. She loves Marquette and honestly the overall support she has received from professors and deans and admin has been phenomenal. She was literally able to speak with the Dean of 3 colleges when she was fumbling with the decision to change degrees. It was really amazing to me (I donât think I would have been able to identify my college Dean in a line up back in the day, lol) and evidence that she is at the right school, if not in the right major! This secondary education degree also gives her all of the prerequisites if she wants to transition to occupational therapy as a grad school option.
Two Aâs and two B+s for Q1. Could be better, but not bad. Last minute Christmas shopping. Allâs good.
D is spending much of the break sleeping, as I had predicted. She said she got very little sleep all semester and only a few hours finals week. Proud that she was able to maintain her 4.0 GPA, while taking her first semester of Organic Chemistry and Physics. She said this is the first time she felt academically challenged. She worked 12-18 hours/ week, dance team 10-15 hours/ week and rushed a sorority this past fall. I was very worried about over-commitment and she had a few meltdowns and called me late at night to vent. One night, she called me at midnight to let me know that she had Physics midterm the next day and had no idea how to do the problems!!?! She stayed up all night and did fine on the test. However, I am about ready to pull my hair out at times. Next semester will be easier as the sorority stuff has less of a time commitment.
@momofsmartdancer Congrats on her making it through that semester. That sounds really rough. Over commitment is tough, but its a life lesson that they need to learn. Unfortunately, some of the brighter kids are slower learners in this area. Fingers crossed that without rushing it will be an easier experience for her (and you!)
DS has headed back to campus. Should arrive before the snowstorm really gets started tonight. Classes start Wednesday so I see some sledding in his plans for the next couple of days. 
Son is back in dorm. Books bought. Ready to go. All rooms had new study chairs on return. Nice.
DS doesnât start back until the 29th (he came home on Dec. 19). No luck with a winter break job because the place he worked in the summer didnât have any work available, so heâs been skiing, sleeping, and spending all his $$. Itâs nice having him home, though!
S returned on Saturday. Three weeks flew by! Itâs been cold here, but even colder there. I was glad to hear his plants survived during the break.
D also flew back on Saturday. In her case, Pittsburgh is warmer than home.
Just want to add that I am sick of flight delays. When we sent her to a school that she had to fly to, I didnât realize just how bad winter travel can be. It seems she is always traveling when there are lots of delays and cancellations. It really adds a layer of stress every time she flies that I hadnât anticipated. I grew up in the NYC area and went to college in the midwest. I donât remember these issues back when I was in college. I donât know if its gotten worse or it my memory is just faulty.
S is home for 5 more days. Itâs been fun having him lounge around and keep us company once the holidays were over. Older S returned to school yesterday, after spending the past month traveling around Europe. It was weird to have him missing during the holidays, but he skyped with us on Christmas day. He goes on another adventure for his month-long spring break. Oh, to be a stowaway in his carry-on! D is happy having just moved into a small house. Her dog definitely needed more space. H wonât let me take down the Christmas trees yet, so Iâm making my spring cleaning master plan. I want to do a major purge over the next 2 months.
We had a bit of a scare this weekend. D suffered a concussion on Sat while playing rugby. Of course, being across the country from her made it that much worse. I worried about her being properly watched and woken up throughout the night, was she hydrating enough, was she eating. All the what ifs were eating at me. According to the trainer, she did not feel it necessary for us to go out there. However, if I didnât hear from her in a 4-5 hour time span I was beginning to have awful anxiety and fears.
Thankfully, she has been feeling as good as one can after a concussion. We are also beyond grateful that I was able to reach out to the schoolâs parentâs club. Today a mom went to see her. The relief I feel by having a parent visual is immeasurable. I pray we never have to deal with anything like this again. Now, weâll need to see how it will affect her school work.
So sorry your DD is injured @cardinal2020mom. I hope she steadily improves.
@cardinal2020mom
Sorry to hear about your daughterâs injury. Also sorry that you are feeling the angst that goes with kids being so far away for college- especially when they are injured, sick, or going through hard times. Nice that you were able to find someone to check on her. Will you need to keep checking on her for a certain time frame or did the medical staff indicate she is OK without that? I am sure I would be very worried also.