My goals in November of 2011, upon entering a masters’ program, were much the same as they are today. I desired to become an administrator in China, and saw an online education at Michigan State University as my best option. I previously had some experience as an administrator that I highly enjoyed, and felt successful at it, so I was intrinsically motivated to enter the program. In reflecting on the goals statement that I made upon entrance into the program, I realized that I changed dramatically in two key areas. First, academically, I’ve become more cognizant and sophisticated. Second, creatively, I’ve flourished and become extremely successful. I’m especially proud of this feat, considering I never thought of myself as a creative person before.
 

I’ve always drawn a distinct line between myself and academics. I think this is a byproduct of being raised in a working-class family, which never tried to exceed its means. However, the ideas from the course literature have greatly changed my mindset. Before, I might rely upon my prior experience in education when answering a question; now I think in much more abstract and hypothetical terms. In my first course, EAD 801: Leadership in organization development, I learned a lot about group-resistor rates. From the literature, I was able to identify many of the same issues in my international school. It allowed me to have a clearer picture of education administration. Also, by increasing my overall academic ability, I gained the confidence to apply for my companies’ Academic English Committee. While, grammatically, I’m still not as qualified as some of the other committee members, creatively, I’m uniquely qualified.
 

In high school, I was an average student, because my father over-stressed sports. He always wanted me to play baseball, not study harder. By not stressing academics, I knew little of my creative talents. The greatest thing that I will take away from this program, is the fact that I AM a creative person. While before, I would think, ‘how can I do something efficiently,’ I now think, ‘how can I do it creatively’; And I instilled this belief into my Chinese students. They were brought up in a system that stresses a group collective, and affords little value to creativity. Through my courses, CEP 882: The nature and design of compelling experiences and CEP 818: Creativity in teaching and learning, I’ve developed a curriculum that is specifically targeted at introducing creativity to Chinese students. The curriculum has increased my students’ intrinsic motivation for higher education. In helping to open my own mind about creativity, this program afforded me the opportunity to teach it to others as well.

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In reviewing the progress that I have made over the course of this program, I’ve come to the realization that I changed greatly inside the classroom and out. The program has benefited me in ways that I didn’t previously comprehend, thus slightly altering the direction of my goal. While my goal is still to be an administrator in China, with the combined academic and creative change in myself, I know I’ll be successful.