A Discussion about Summer 2009

Since I am on the topics kick now, I am starting to put up the blog titles before I get the blogs done, so I know that I want to talk about. It is like a foretaste of the amazing blogs you can read when I am done!!! This blog is very important however, because I need advice on future plans. I have talked to my Mom and Carrie about this, but I want some more perspectives. So here it goes.

The Summer of 2009 has a lot of possibilities for me and right now I am having a difficult time deciding what to do.

1.) I have the opportunity to earn 8 Political Science Credits through the University of Minnesota's SPAN program. This program works with a qualified professor, in this case: Dr. Cris Toffolo, former director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at UST and a Political Science Professor, now she is the director of the Justice and Peace Studies Program at a Illinois Public University. The program would include classes during the spring of 2009 to prepare by reading materials, participating in discussions, and doing preparatory homework for an 8-10 week personal, independent research project in South Africa during the summer of 2009. The course teaches you methods of research, advises you on your research and topic, and ultimately you spend 8-10 weeks in South Africa gathering data and analyzing situations for your research. Then you return and in the fall of 2009 you write a 50+ page research paper which is graded. The cost of the program is $4,000 which is just about equivalent to a 4 UST credits, so essentially I would be getting 4 credits free. The catch is I still have to pay for my airfare, food, lodging, and travel in South Africa which I would budget between 4 and 6 thousand dollars. So, in total, I would get 8 credits, a trip to South Africa, and an amazing research opportunity for about the same cost as going to St. Thomas for the same amount of credits. I could also possibly present this research at conferences around the United States with the help of UST through grants as well. I am pretty much a guarantee in for this program because I have worked with Dr. Toffolo in the past and it would undoubtedly work out.

2.) There is a program on campus for students interested in research. The program pays students $4000 over the summer to spend 40 hours a week researching and working with a professor of their choice on campus. If I kept my schedule at work, I could essentially work during the summer at the City of Prior Lake, earning more money, and also have an amazing research experience on campus. Through this program, I would present my research on campus and I could possibly present my research at other conferences around the region and the US. The catch for this one is I don't receive credit, most likely hampering my ability to graduate a semester early in December of 2009, which means I would need to stay at UST until spring of 2010. In the end I would be ahead financially and also I would have an amazing research opportunity. I would also be able to spend more time with my family compared to this summer. Another catch to this program is that I would need to be selected to get the $4000 grant and to perform research over the summer. I am not sure what my chances are at this, I like to believe I have a good chance, but it is much less certain compared to the SPAN program.

Both opportunities have negatives and positives. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place to choose. Any advice you can give me would be excellent. I don't have to make a choice right away, but I want to spend some time thinking about my options!

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