What a difference...

... a year makes!

Today, I am reflecting on the difference that one year has made. My husband, dogs, and I are still planted in Madison, WI and loving our sweet ranch house. But a lot of other things have changed!

Last year, on May 7th, 2017, I was preparing to graduate. I graduated from Arizona State University with my Ph.D. in English: Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies on May 8th, 2017!

My husband sent me this photo montage from Google Photos this morning.

It was a warm Monday in Tempe, and my parents, sister, and husband were with me in Wells Fargo Arena. They cheered me on when Dr. Maureen Goggin hooded me, when my name was called, and when I shook President Michael Crow's hand on stage. That night we went to dinner with two ONU (and now AZ) friends at Cibo Urban Pizzeria in downtown Phoenix to celebrate. Graduating with my doctorate was a great feeling, and the support from my community near and far made it that much better!

Today, on May 7th, 2018, I finished my final semester as an adjunct English instructor at Madison College. I finished by teaching my last 7:00AM Technical Reporting class and working as a professional tutor in the Writing Center.

Photo taken from the Madison College Instagram account @madisoncollege

I will write a recap about my last semester at Madison College in my next post along with my third and final installment of my job market posts. The really exciting news, though, is why this is my last semester at Madison College. The reason is...

I have accepted a job as an Assistant Professor of English in the Department of English at Olivet Nazarene University! 

The name of this school might sound familiar, and that's because it is! Olivet is my undergraduate alma mater, and I graduated from there on May 7th, 2011-- exactly seven years ago today. I will join the English faculty there in August of this year, and I'm really excited about this opportunity! The English department is housed in the Burke Administration building with a climb to the fourth floor that I am well familiar with! I will be commuting from Madison to Bourbonnais, IL for the week and then making the reverse trip for the weekend. I'm looking forward to spending time on campus as a faculty member and bringing the foundation of knowledge that I built at Olivet along with the knowledge and experience that I've gained since I've left back to the campus with me!

I will plan to update my blog on the fifth of each month throughout the summer and this next semester to detail my experiences. Please enter your email address on the left hand side of the page to subscribe! I look forward to writing about the opportunity and the new challenge of working at ONU!

Photo of campus from the Olivet Nazarene University website