COLUMN: USU alumna spends time in D.C.
If she could change anything about her experience in graduate school, Megan Johnson said she would get a car.
After a 45-minute train ride and 10-minute walk to where she primarily has work and classes, she said it is a far cry from her undergraduate experience, when everything she needed was just minutes away.
Johnson, 24, said it was just one of the many things she had to adjust to, after her life at USU.
“Graduate school isn’t anything like I expected,” Johnson said. “It’s incredibly different than most of the undergraduate classes I’ve had. The professor has greater expectations of what to do for class, so you take on a great amount of responsibility.”
Johnson graduated from USU spring 2011, double majoring in international studies and history. She said she is now part of a distance education program with Missouri State University, emphasizing in strategic studies in national defense and military intelligence in Washington, D.C.
Johnson, who hails from Sandy, Utah, said she loves the program so far, especially because of her connection to the subject matter.
“I’m very into the military and love everything about it,” she said. “To be in a place where things like that are so much more prominent is really cool.”
Johnson said she works for a federal policy group, setting appointments with congressmen in an effort to help lobby for life insurance policies.
She said she sees fulfillment in the trade, not only for the work at hand, but because her office is right in the heart of the Washington, D.C., directly across the street from the Capitol.
“I love being right the middle of everything,” Johnson said. “I can look outside and see the Capitol every day. It’s just cool to feel a part of it all.”
Johnson said her experience in graduate school is also different because of the structure of her schedule. Though her job gives her great insight on her field of interest, she said she was surprised with the environment of the workplace.
“My office is full of jokesters,” Johnson said. “People have this perception that everyone on Capitol Hill are serious — just serious people — and don’t joke about things. And while they do take their job very seriously, they are very relaxed and low key and know how to have a good time.”
After a day at work, Johnson said she sometimes has a few extra moments to do some sightseeing or get caught up on responsibilities. Johnson said she then heads to classes, which she quickly found out require more of her attention than her undergraduate classes did.
“It’s more like a seminar setting,” she said. “The professor has his expectations and readings for you, but instead of him standing in front of you and lecturing, you come to class, wait for him to start things off, and the students lead the discussion for the next three hours or so. It takes a lot of reading and prep time, but it’s so much more in depth and has great insights.”
In time, Johnson said she hopes to further her opportunities in the program — pursuing a study abroad in the Czech Republic and a hopeful internship with the CIA — but so far, she’s just glad to be well on her way to achieving a career she is interested in.
Now that she is several months into graduate school, Johnson said she has one piece of advice for those finishing school and preparing for the road ahead.
“Whatever you do, don’t become easily discouraged,” she said. “A lot of people I know who applied for graduate school applied at the time I did and had struggles, but over time they got where they felt they needed to be and things worked out.
“I think if you have a passion then go for it. And though I know it is hard to be positive all the time, try and not get discouraged. Because if you get down and quit, who knows what you’ll miss out on?”
– steve.schwartzman@aggiemail.usu.edu