To Prepare:

• Reflect on why you have chosen to pursue your academic degree. You might consider professional or academic goals, individuals in your life who motivate or inspire you, or social change issues you are passionate about.
• Review the required readings and media and take note of any strategies or tools you want to implement when you begin courses. 

Reply to this Discussion and post your initial response sharing your response to the following prompt:

• As you progress through your program, it will become increasingly important to remember why you started this degree. Recalling your reasons for beginning this program will help you stay motivated along the way. In a few sentences, please share your greatest motivation for pursuing a degree.

Feel free to add any questions you might have. A member of the peer mentor team will be monitoring the discussion thread and addressing questions as needed.