Lasting Lessons

By Adena Raub, Ed.M.’08, one of our most recent graduates. During the spring semester, Raub took first place in the school’s second annual BRIDGE Educational Enterprise Idea Competition for Me Too Productions, a one-woman nonprofit she started that creates videos for children preparing for hospital procedures.

I vividly remember when I first opened the e-mail that announced my acceptance to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was sitting at work as a production assistant at a public radio show. I opened the e-mail and was shocked. I read each word over and over to make sure that I was not mistaking the e-mail’s content. Ultimately, I popped out of my chair, started crying, and called everyone I knew.

Looking back at that moment, it is hard to believe that my year at the school has ended. I approached the year as a gift, and I did my best to soak up all that HGSE offered. I quickly learned that what makes HGSE so special is not the Harvard brand name, but rather the faculty and students of this institution, who are some of the most devoted, caring, and dynamic individuals I have ever met.

Along with all of these great people came great ideas. Through my coursework, I had the privilege of learning not only from faculty who are the top innovators in their fields, but also from the ideas that were developed by my fellow students. From unique online professional development platforms to websites [designed] to assist parents with their children’s learning disabilities, these projects still inspire me.

I was honored to have one of my ideas recognized in the BRIDGE competition. I had developed the idea to create a series of videos that prepare children for medical procedures. I developed the pilot in [Lecturer] Joe Blatt’s Designing and Producing Media for Education class, and I learned how to put together a product plan in [Adjunct Lecturer] John Richards’ course, Entrepreneurial Approaches to Educational Publishing. Not only were the competition judges kind enough to award me the first place prize, but they also provided guidance about how to move forward to a professional level with the idea. In the meantime, as I reflect on my year at the school, I am thankful to have been able to create, think, and learn in an environment that allows new ideas to flourish and be realized.

Lasting Lessons is written by alumni and focuses on something they took away from their time at the school that has stayed with them, personally or professionally. If you have a piece you would like to submit, contact lory_hough@harvard.edu. To read a web story about the BRIDGE competition, go to www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/ features/2008/05/6_bridge.php.

photo by Mark Morelli

About the Article

A version of this article originally appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Ed., the magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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