Josephine PhD, Classics Adjunct Professor

Abstract

I always knew that I wanted to teach. Even before I started college I had this weird feeling, like intuition or something, that I wanted to be a college professor. Honestly, I have no idea where it came from; I don’t think I knew any college professors growing up, and I’m the first person in my family to go to college. I remember talking to my dad when I was around 12 years old and telling him that I wanted to be a professor; he said that I would never be able to do that because to be a professor you have to write a book. I remember thinking, and that’s impossible … why? Why can’t I write a book? Is that really such a big deal? I read them all the time! So I said, “Fine; I’ll be a park ranger.” He said, “Oh, those jobs are highly coveted and much harder to get than you would think.” And I was like, “Oh, great.”

It always comes back to this gut feeling that this is my passion, this is my path, and I shouldn’t give up on it. I mean, it may not work out, but if it doesn’t work out, it’s not going to be because I gave up. That’s the only thing I can do, right?… I never thought that getting a PhD in Classics was going to teach me to be present in the moment.