Three Cheers for Bureaucracy

This is an annoyance more than an actual problem, but it is an annoyance - and will trouble more people than just I, unfortunately.

From Glasgow:

Dear Miss Farnum

I am delighted to inform you that the University of Glasgow is making you an offer of a place. Please take the time to read all the information attached to this formal offer to study at the University.

The details of your offer are as follows:

Unconditional Offer for LLM IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SECURITY  

  

Programme of Study: LLM IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SECURITY

Mode of Study:              Full time  

Duration of Study:        12 months

Start Date:                     16 September 2013

End Date:                     16 September 2014

From Edinburgh:

"We will accept an official document in the interim stating that she has successfully completed her degree, it does not have to be the degree certificate itself; a letter on headed paper with the appropriate stamp will suffice. Upon receiving her degree certificate she will need to provide us with a copy for our records.

"It is a University policy not to accept students onto our programmes who are simultaneously registered elsewhere at another institution (an alternative would be to interrupt but at this late stage in her degree seems rather pointless). Until we have such a letter stating that Ms Farnum has successfully completed her degree we cannot issue an unconditional offer."

I need an unconditional offer in order to get a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies), something critical for my visa.  So I somehow need to have my dissertation officially done and some kind of highfaluting letter into U of E pretty early in the summer.

Doable, and not a huge issue in reality.  Just an annoyance that something like 10 busy people are now involved in trying to help me with.  Alas.

Water and Enterprise - Some Details

Stolen from the blog post I did for the International Office:

From 17-19 February 2013, Norfolk County Council’s Integrated Education Advisory Services hosted a pilot enterprise programme focused on water and carbon reduction at Holt Hall. Twenty-nine (29) students from seven (7) Norfolk schools and colleges and six (6) students from Randaberg College in Norway attended...and so did American student ambassador Rebecca Farnum!

The programme included team building, leadership and mentoring approaches and specialist support to develop students’ expertise in water efficiency and carbon reduction. After attending the programme, the pupils are expected to run a short water-saving campaign at their high school/college, followed by a stronger campaign with 1-3 cluster primary/feeder schools in order to develop their skills as young consultants. Norfolk and Norwegian high school and college pupils were joined by Norfolk County Council (NCC) staff and consultants, University of East Anglia (UEA) faculty member Declan Conway, and UEA students for teaching, mentorship, and support.

As a MSc Student in Water Security and International Development, this programme was right up my alley! And the Norfolk County Council made use of my know-how in global water issues by asking me to do a presentation on the very first day about water quality, quantity, and the hydrological cycle. See everyone else who was involved - including Professor Declan Conway from my school - at the Water & Enterprise website!

We had lots of fun - here's just a few pictures of the UEA and high school students working and playing at the beautiful and historic Holt Hall!

Remembering Old Dreams

Yesterday, I was pulling some old information out for an interview with MSU's Alumni Association, and I stumbled upon my Truman application. In it, I found:
"I will pursue a Master of Science in Environment and International Development from the University of East Anglia. UEA’s School of International Development is a world leader in poverty alleviation and human, social and environmental change. Particularly exciting is the new work of Dr. Shawn McGuire on social networks’ effects on agrobiodiversity. Using genetics, agronomy, anthropology, and network modeling, McGuire’s team is exploring how seed sharing can improve management, environmental sustainability, and food security. The project runs through January 2014, meaning I will be at UEA in its final stages and hopefully join an action team arising from its results.
In the classroom, courses such as “Political Ecology of Environment and Development,” “Understanding Global Environmental Change,” “Health and Development,” and “Conflict, Peace and Security” will build upon my current skill set and prepare me for a career in food security policy. Other Masters programs offered by the School include Conflict, Governance, and International Development and Water Security and International Development, ensuring that the School is well-equipped to provide me with faculty mentors in each of my interests, including professors such as Mark Zeitoun (relationships between environmental conflict, and human, state and regional security in the Middle East and Africa), Steve Russell (health economics), Declan Conway (climate change), Bruce Lankford (agricultural water management), Daniel McAvoy (humanitarian crises and post-crisis transitions), and Elissaios Papyrakis (natural resource management economics). Strong in both the natural and social sciences, I am excited for how this MS program will allow me to continue my multidisciplinary interests while shaping me into an activist with the ability to do both environmental research on agricultural production and political research on policy change."

I'm doing the Water Security MSc, not the Environment one - the Water Security masters barely existed yet and wasn't on my radar when I was applying for the Truman. But I'm going to the "Political Ecology" class tomorrow morning, and being led by Shawn McGuire - for whom I now baby-sit. Declan Conway and I both just lectured at a "Water and Enterprise" Programme for Norfolk County and Norwegian high schoolers on green entrepreneurship and water use in their schools. I'm leading a working group with Mark and Bruce on the hydrosocial cycle.

The point: Life-changing seeds are planted early. Dearly beloved educators, never think what you're doing doesn't matter. Huge, huge, impossibly inadequate thanks to the many faculty who took an 18-year-old and showed her how little she knows about the world.  :)

"The Final Sprint"

Returning from our School's "Reading Week" (a time mid-term during which there are no taught classes), we are in the final few weeks of teaching for the term, believe it or not - Easter break starts March 24, and I don't actually have any classes after that.  Three and a half more weeks...craziness!!!

Home and Off Again

I was back in Norwich for a little over 24 hours after our "Water & Enterprise" Programme...and now, I'm off again to London for a conference!
What colour is your water?
It's gonna be a good time!  I also have an awesome event at the Embassy on PBS' documentary series "Finding Your Roots" and catching up with some Marshall mates on the schedule.
: )

Water and Enterprise

I am currently at Holt Hall, an outdoor education centre in Norfolk, helping to lead a programme for area and Norwegian high schoolers on water and carbon reduction along with green enterprise and entrepreneurship.  Having a delightful time - local high schoolers, water security, and English countryside all in a lovely combination!
: )

Yummy!

Thank you, Guatemala, for my sugar snap peas! Garlic, lemon, almonds, and Parmesan to make even more delicious. :)