Hello friends,
Long time no see. Yeah, I suck as a blogger. Not because I don't have things to say, but because I never have time to write them down. I am not complaining, because I do love this job and I'm very thankful to have it. But I just never thought I would be so busy.
Back in December, I started to write this blog post about putting together my first T&P (tenure and promotion) packet. In short, it is a sucky process that involves lots of writing and reflecting on what you've accomplished this year and what you plan to accomplish next year, and why you should get to keep your job. I had to write an 8 page reflection about what I've learned. Keep in mind, this document is read by every member of my department and by my dean, so while I tried to be honest, there are a few things I left out.
What I've really learned so far:
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Reflections on the past decade
It's hard to believe that today is the last day of my twenties. I feel like this decade has gone by in a flash. I've been thinking about what my life was like 10 years ago, on the eve of my 20th birthday. Jason and I had just moved to Virginia, I had just started my junior year at Virginia Tech, and we were living in a small apartment with Chloe (who was just as mean and fat as she is today). I thought then that leaving my teenage years behind meant I was getting old. I was actually quite upset about turning 20- what a fool I was!
Over the next decade I had some major life changing experiences. At 21, we added Haley cat to our family (seriously, y'all know that I love that cat way more than I should, so this was a very important event). That year we also moved into our first house, a rental, but still a big deal for us, and I started grad school. At 22, we got married on a perfect sunny day with everyone we loved in attendance. At 23, we rescued Anna, our crazy mutt, who taught us some very important lessons about patience. That spring I gave my first ever lecture and knew instantly that I would become an educator. That summer we moved to Georgia so I could start my PhD. At 24, I got my first taste of teaching in a large course, as a guest lecturer to 320 students, and the adrenalin rush lasted for hours. At 25, I taught a entire course by myself and began to realize the magnitude of that task and the impact you can have on people's lives. Years 26-28 kind of ran together. I spent a lot of time in a dark room with an amazing microscope and my iPod, certainly the best moments of my research career. I started working on biology education research and learned a lot about pedagogy. I taught graduate students and became a mentor to a few. I discovered a love of yoga which gave me an even more optimistic attitude on life (if that was even possible).
The past year has been the most transformative of all. On my 29th birthday, I was here in Laramie for the first time, interviewing for my dream job, meeting wonderful people who have since become great friends and colleagues. Two days later on the flight back home, I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time from a little puddle jumper plane, and wept in complete awe of the majesty of it. Three weeks later, I got the best phone call of my life, standing in the hall at Coverdell, Jason standing with me, looking into my eyes with a pride I had never seen before. We ran through the halls spreading the news and hugging all our friends. That night we went out to dinner and bought the most expensive bottle of whiskey we could find, which stands now in our bookcase with an inscription we wrote that night.
Over the next few months, I worked hard to finish my research and then to write my dissertation. Some days I stayed in my PJs and wrote from breakfast to dinner (I was going to say dawn to dusk, but I think we all know that I never see dawn). I learned more during that time than I did in all 6 years of my PhD- it's a shame you only write that thing at the very end. Some days I broke down, convinced I would never finish, and Jason had to pick me back up. But finally I finished, and defended, and graduated, with all of my family watching. Three weeks later we spent our last and most bittersweet night in Georgia, surrounded by some of the best friends of my life.
And now, on the eve of 30, I am feeling grateful and happy and more than a little reflective. Except for the past 5 months, I spent the entire last decade as a college student, and now I am finally living the life that I worked for all those years. And it feels wonderful.
With love and gratitude to all who helped me make it this far,
Carly
Over the next decade I had some major life changing experiences. At 21, we added Haley cat to our family (seriously, y'all know that I love that cat way more than I should, so this was a very important event). That year we also moved into our first house, a rental, but still a big deal for us, and I started grad school. At 22, we got married on a perfect sunny day with everyone we loved in attendance. At 23, we rescued Anna, our crazy mutt, who taught us some very important lessons about patience. That spring I gave my first ever lecture and knew instantly that I would become an educator. That summer we moved to Georgia so I could start my PhD. At 24, I got my first taste of teaching in a large course, as a guest lecturer to 320 students, and the adrenalin rush lasted for hours. At 25, I taught a entire course by myself and began to realize the magnitude of that task and the impact you can have on people's lives. Years 26-28 kind of ran together. I spent a lot of time in a dark room with an amazing microscope and my iPod, certainly the best moments of my research career. I started working on biology education research and learned a lot about pedagogy. I taught graduate students and became a mentor to a few. I discovered a love of yoga which gave me an even more optimistic attitude on life (if that was even possible).
The past year has been the most transformative of all. On my 29th birthday, I was here in Laramie for the first time, interviewing for my dream job, meeting wonderful people who have since become great friends and colleagues. Two days later on the flight back home, I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time from a little puddle jumper plane, and wept in complete awe of the majesty of it. Three weeks later, I got the best phone call of my life, standing in the hall at Coverdell, Jason standing with me, looking into my eyes with a pride I had never seen before. We ran through the halls spreading the news and hugging all our friends. That night we went out to dinner and bought the most expensive bottle of whiskey we could find, which stands now in our bookcase with an inscription we wrote that night.
Over the next few months, I worked hard to finish my research and then to write my dissertation. Some days I stayed in my PJs and wrote from breakfast to dinner (I was going to say dawn to dusk, but I think we all know that I never see dawn). I learned more during that time than I did in all 6 years of my PhD- it's a shame you only write that thing at the very end. Some days I broke down, convinced I would never finish, and Jason had to pick me back up. But finally I finished, and defended, and graduated, with all of my family watching. Three weeks later we spent our last and most bittersweet night in Georgia, surrounded by some of the best friends of my life.
And now, on the eve of 30, I am feeling grateful and happy and more than a little reflective. Except for the past 5 months, I spent the entire last decade as a college student, and now I am finally living the life that I worked for all those years. And it feels wonderful.
With love and gratitude to all who helped me make it this far,
Carly
Saturday, October 8, 2011
First Snow in Wyoming!
Hi y'all!
It's snowing!! In early October, which seems crazy early but apparently is really late for the first snow of the season. I know that in a few months, I'll be totally sick of the snow, but for now, it's pretty exciting.
Having lived in the south for so long, a snow day feels like a vacation, an excuse not to leave the house all day, because everything would be closed anyway. I think I'm gonna have to get over that idea- I have to go to work today! Here are a few pictures (and a video!) for you to enjoy while you bask in your 70 degree fall weather. Try to control your jealousy.
Love, Carly
It's snowing!! In early October, which seems crazy early but apparently is really late for the first snow of the season. I know that in a few months, I'll be totally sick of the snow, but for now, it's pretty exciting.
Having lived in the south for so long, a snow day feels like a vacation, an excuse not to leave the house all day, because everything would be closed anyway. I think I'm gonna have to get over that idea- I have to go to work today! Here are a few pictures (and a video!) for you to enjoy while you bask in your 70 degree fall weather. Try to control your jealousy.
Love, Carly
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| Warm and dry in my new parka |
Monday, October 3, 2011
The first 6 weeks
Hello friends- have you missed me? I realized today that I haven't posted since the first day of class. As you might imagine, I've been a little busy with the new job. It's been fantastic, but geez, it's really exhausting. I realized a few days ago that I had not taken a single day off of work since the first day of the semester. I'm usually at work until 7 pm, I'm at work much of the weekend, and I frequently wake up in the middle of the night and work a few hours until I can fall back to sleep. My students must think I never sleep, with all the emails I've sent at 3 in the morning. Luckily, I really am enjoying it and am super motivated to get things done, so it doesn't feel so much like work.
After a month on the job, the biggest surprise for me has been how very different the students here are compared to the ones at Georgia. They are super polite and sweet, and also pretty shy. In contrast to the conversations I overheard on the UGA bus (oh, the stories), I rarely hear Wyoming students talking about how wasted they got last night, or how many shots they pounded. I don't presume to think they're not partying; I think they just know better than to advertise it in a state where everyone knows everyone else. Most of them are from teeny tiny towns in Wyoming, and Laramie is the big city to them. Many of them are real life cowboys, wearing fancy belt buckles not bought at a store, but earned by roping cattle or riding broncos. This weekend one of my students broke his jaw and lost some teeth when a bull kicked him in the face while he was working as a rodeo clown.
Monday, August 22, 2011
I love my job!
Okay, I realize I just posted about work last night, but holy crap, I love my job, and I just had to shout it from the mountaintops (quite literally, we live at 7200 ft, people)! Today was just the best day ever. I went and introduced myself to the 3 sections of General Biology, 600 people total, like 99% of whom are brand spanking new freshman. And they were so sweet and polite and excited, with big sincere smiles and eager eyes. I had 3 of them stop me while I was walking around campus later, to ask me questions about lab, and thank me profusely for answering them. I helped one lost and anxious girl find her classroom, which was just right around the corner, but still she was so appreciative. I felt like her mom, but in a good way.
And the grad students were awesome today too. I had meetings with my head TAs, who are both just full of enthusiasm and fantastic ideas. One of them wants to create a lab about photosynthesis- hallelujah, because I really have no idea how to make that interesting, but she is pumped about it! And then, out of the blue, one of my TAs stopped by my office just to tell me how passionate he is about teaching and how he wants to make his career in biology education, and hoped that I could offer him some guidance. Sound like anyone you know? My entire relationship with Peggy Brickman began almost the exact same way! Naturally, I love him now.
So, in short, my job is awesome. I can already say that all of those days when I swore and cried and hated my life as a grad student, and there were many, were completely worth it to bring me to this place. And I truly hope that you will all find the same joy in your work someday, if you haven't already.
Love, Carly
And the grad students were awesome today too. I had meetings with my head TAs, who are both just full of enthusiasm and fantastic ideas. One of them wants to create a lab about photosynthesis- hallelujah, because I really have no idea how to make that interesting, but she is pumped about it! And then, out of the blue, one of my TAs stopped by my office just to tell me how passionate he is about teaching and how he wants to make his career in biology education, and hoped that I could offer him some guidance. Sound like anyone you know? My entire relationship with Peggy Brickman began almost the exact same way! Naturally, I love him now.
So, in short, my job is awesome. I can already say that all of those days when I swore and cried and hated my life as a grad student, and there were many, were completely worth it to bring me to this place. And I truly hope that you will all find the same joy in your work someday, if you haven't already.
Love, Carly
Work, work, work
I promised another post before the semester begins, and this is that post. Classes start tomorrow, and my quiet little town nearly doubled in size this weekend. Ah, undergrads. So before the craziness ensues, I wanted to fill you in on what I've been up to so far at my new job.
First things first, check out my office!! Having never had more than a lab bench to myself, I am really loving it. True, it has beige cinderblock walls and no window, but it is big and quiet and all mine. Since I inherited some seriously retro furniture, I'm trying to just go with it. For example, check out my funky light teal candy dish I scored from a flea market, which match perfectly the color of my 60's classroom chairs. Oh yeah. And just last week I snatched up an old Carolina Biological poster from the 70s (not pictured) of an animal cell. It's actually quite beautiful- it looks like a watercolor. And I have my eye on a 54" Jackson Pollock print, which someone really must buy me for my birthday, to go on the wall over my meeting table. So, you can see, I've really been focusing on the important things during my first month on the job.
First things first, check out my office!! Having never had more than a lab bench to myself, I am really loving it. True, it has beige cinderblock walls and no window, but it is big and quiet and all mine. Since I inherited some seriously retro furniture, I'm trying to just go with it. For example, check out my funky light teal candy dish I scored from a flea market, which match perfectly the color of my 60's classroom chairs. Oh yeah. And just last week I snatched up an old Carolina Biological poster from the 70s (not pictured) of an animal cell. It's actually quite beautiful- it looks like a watercolor. And I have my eye on a 54" Jackson Pollock print, which someone really must buy me for my birthday, to go on the wall over my meeting table. So, you can see, I've really been focusing on the important things during my first month on the job.
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| My 60's hand-me-down office furniture, which is well built if not particularly attractive. That desk weighs at least 100 pounds, I kid you not. |
Monday, August 15, 2011
Summer fun
Hello friends,
Boy, have we been busy since my last post. We have been to Colorado and/or Cheyenne at least once a week, attended 3 concerts, 2 rodeos, and a baseball game, been out with new friends several times, had the Jordans come to visit, and just this weekend we drove to Iowa and back. Oh, also I started my job on July 5, and Jason's been working in a lab on campus. See? I told you we've been busy. Plus, I never did blog about my trip to New Mexico. So I guess I have a lot of catching up to do here. Man, this blogging thing is harder than I thought. Where to begin...
Way back in June I went to Las Cruces, NM for the ABLE meeting- Association for Biology Laboratory Educators. It was awesome! ABLE was absolutely the best conference ever, and I vow to return every year. The amazing Kris Miller from UGA and my new colleague Liz went too, which was awesome. The sessions were great, we met lots of cool people doing even cooler things in their labs, and were totally inspired to shake things up back home in our own labs. We also took a field trip to watch the sun set at the White Sands National Monument, which was just amazingly beautiful.
Boy, have we been busy since my last post. We have been to Colorado and/or Cheyenne at least once a week, attended 3 concerts, 2 rodeos, and a baseball game, been out with new friends several times, had the Jordans come to visit, and just this weekend we drove to Iowa and back. Oh, also I started my job on July 5, and Jason's been working in a lab on campus. See? I told you we've been busy. Plus, I never did blog about my trip to New Mexico. So I guess I have a lot of catching up to do here. Man, this blogging thing is harder than I thought. Where to begin...
Way back in June I went to Las Cruces, NM for the ABLE meeting- Association for Biology Laboratory Educators. It was awesome! ABLE was absolutely the best conference ever, and I vow to return every year. The amazing Kris Miller from UGA and my new colleague Liz went too, which was awesome. The sessions were great, we met lots of cool people doing even cooler things in their labs, and were totally inspired to shake things up back home in our own labs. We also took a field trip to watch the sun set at the White Sands National Monument, which was just amazingly beautiful.
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| Sunset over the dunes |
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