Group Projects

When I was in high school, college, and even graduate school I dreaded group projects. You know, the kind where the work was *supposed* to be divided evenly amongst all the group members and then you would get one grade on how well the group as a whole did. In reality, a few people do the majority of the work. (Recalling her recent experience with MSU-Gaylord, I know Lisa feels me on this!) I was always afraid my fellow group members would bring down the group grade by not doing their part well.

Real life is turning out to be not much different. I'm working on a grant proposal in which sections of the writing have been assigned to different people. In addition to doing some of the writing myself, I am also compiling all of the work done by the others. By way of confession, I really prefer to have the role of "compiler" because I feel like there's more control over the quality of the finished product that way. After all, we're not looking to get an "A", but rather $3 million so the finished product better be pretty darn awesome.

As an added note: Experience gained through a former job (providing case management services to mentally ill adults) is turning out to be surprisingly beneficial as I put this proposal together. Who imagined that I would someday be grateful for a job I disliked so much? Well, Mom and Dad probably told me so at one point, but I guess I had to figure it out on my own!