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Here I will discuss the overall themes that I believe ran through the majority of my course work. As you will see there is a big **international** vein that runs through almost every course I took, either because the course was an international course, or because I found a way to add an international dimension to a traditional class. I also believe that there is a strong **leadership** theme in my program.  As mentioned above, the obvious theme that you will see in my program would have to be my interest in **international affairs / international education**. Of course, this was not by accident. My life and work experience up to my entering into this program have lead me to this place. Before I started this program I took a long look at all of my life and work experience that had led me to where I was at the time. When I looked back at it all there were two major themes in my life; **education, leadership and international**. Therefore, when I started looking for a master’s degree program I was specifically looking for one where I could focus on these main themes. In that regard I was very lucky, in the sense that I found a master’s program with just the right fit in my own back yard. In my own back yard because I grew up in Kent and was living in Stow at the time.  I started the program out with a bang when I found out that the professor who created the **international certificate at Kent State** was going to leave during the summer before I was supposed to start classes. I immediately signed up for her **International and Comparative Higher Education Administration intersession** class in May, and started school the following week. It was a very intense three weeks of being plunged head first into, not only a master’s degree program, but into **international education.** I learned so much from this fabulous **leader**. I learned, not only about the course topics, but about how to use Vista, and how to find scholarly articles, and what was expected of a master’s student. I only wish that I had the chance to take more classes from such a wonderful professor. I consider myself lucky to have had the chance to have a class with Dr. Hyun before she left.  After that intense class, I chose to take a summer session practicum in the **Office of International Affairs (OIA**). This furthered my knowledge of working with international students that I had from my work **overseas and with ESL** **students** here in the US, but now I was able to learn about students in a secondary education setting. This practicum also gave me the chance to work in a **leadership role** with all of the staff in the OIA and learn from each of them. This close contact with the OIA staff allowed me to look more closely at what a future job in international affairs would entail.  Once my “official” first semester started I began to take the degree requirement courses. And even though these courses were not international, I always added an **international component** into each of them. For example, I would discuss how college student development theories related or didn’t relate to international students, or when writing a paper for a course, I would focus on the topic of the paper from the perspective of an **international student or an international student advisor**.  There wasn’t one semester in this program where **international education** and **leadership** did not play a large part in my courses, or my course work. Even when working on my practicum in the Office of the Vice Provost I spent all of my time working on **international initiatives** and working as in a **leadership role as the assistant director of an international program**. I still continue to work on the **international initiatives committees.**   During the last two years here in Kent States Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel Master’s Program I have changed so much as a student, as a learner, and as a **leader**. Over the second summer session that I took in this program I realized that I had made a major shift in my thinking and feeling about myself. I had changed from being a student in this program to being an administrator/**leader**. I’m not sure just how to describe this shift in thinking, but it was there.  Regarding the program in general, it delivered more than I expected it to. It is a **leadership** program and I truly believe that it creates **leaders**. It created one in me. The program may have more credits than other higher education administration programs, or it might be more rigorous, but, whatever it is or has, in the end it is an excellent program. The members of the faculty in the program are good examples of **leaders** and they have all helped me to arrive at my goal of completing the program and completing it with the feeling that I will go forth as **a true leader in international education.** <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">