At first I didn't remember feeling as insecure when applying to graduate programs after getting my Bachelor's degree, but after a little introspection I discovered I just had a healthy amount of mental scar tissue over that part of my life. I imagine the salve of time is what keeps many of us going.
The point is that I did not have nearly as much on the line with this application as I have had with applications previous. In spite of that, I was still on tender-hooks throughout the process even though my continued livelihood wasn't dependent on it succeeding. It was just something I really wanted to do, and when you have to subject yourself to a value judgment by others it is difficult to stay impersonal about it.
As I write this I realize I'm working backward, in a way. My road to the program didn't begin ex nihlo from the moment I pressed the "submit" button on the Mason application screen. It actually began with friends, colleagues and mentors gently prodding me in the direction of technical communication studies. I had a decent idea of what it was and what aspects of it I found interesting, but there wasn't anything I had been aware of that I felt could really keep me hooked and productive through a program.
Otherwise I would basically just be there for the terminal degree, which would be terrible for everyone involved. That's even assuming that I made it past the application process. I do not need that kind of torture and they do not need that kind of student.
It wasn't until an astute colleague pointed out that Dr. Eyman was doing significant work with video games that inspiration struck. If Dr. Eyman was doing video games, why couldn't I study tabletop roleplaying games? However, as we all know...
I wanted to take a class first to make sure I could hack it, so I registered as a non-degree student in the 501 intro class for the master's program. I was extremely fortunate to have Dr. Heidi Lawrence as my instructor; most of my success thus far can be attributed to the work I did in that class. I was able to build the basis for the writing sample I would submit in 501, and Dr. Lawrence was very helpful in giving me feedback. From what I learned in 501, I also figured that leveraging my previous work with social systems in my MSW would be helpful, and it turned out that it was.
I was also lucky that a student Society for Technical Communications group led by Dr. Lawrence was beginning on campus, which gave me additional opportunities to work with and learn from other students in both the masters and PhD programs here.
During the semester I approached Dr. Eyman to talk about the field and his studies. He was able to direct me to Immersive Gameplay and that helped me get a start in the area of scholarship I am hoping to pursue. He also generously gave me some pointers on my personal goal statement.
So that's how I got here. I found a subject I was passionate about in a field I was interested in, developed a working proficiency with the subject matter while bringing in related skills I had already developed. I also reached out to faculty who were able to provide insights into how my thoughts might fit into the program and how to best craft the case for what value that scholarship might bring.
I anticipate this will be an extremely demanding program and I'm trying to bring the very best of my faculties to bear. That includes things like organizing my thoughts/research (blog!) and getting into shape; exercise increases blood flow, and I'll need all the blood that I can stuff into my brain for this.
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