Posted by Francesca Zanti

Earlier this year, I received an email from my advisor, Mary Schmelter, stating that she was having a small informal breakfast gathering for her students. She would be providing coffee, orange juice, and donuts. I was excited about this, because I had only met her once on my initial enrollment to SPS. I communicated with her regarding guidance for my next class through email.

The breakfast turned out to be more than just refreshments. Many in our group struck up conversations with one another. We discussed some of the experiences we had with our classes and our professors. I was excited to see a friend from a current class. I had no idea we also shared the same advisor.

Mid-way through, Mary broke in and asked us to take turns introducing ourselves. We also had group discussions on what challenges we were facing, and ways to problem solve them as a group.

I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, and it will always be one of my favorite memories in my SPS career. I didn’t just participate because of free refreshments. It was an opportunity for me to get to know my advisor and my fellow classmates. In my opinion, it was a great idea for Mary to arrange the get together.

Since that Saturday morning, I have come across some of the students that participated in the group. We reflect on how much fun we had that morning.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saucydragonfly/226474314/