Apr 29, 2016
My Life in 46 Semesters
Last night was the launch party for Issue 17 of Superstition Review. It was also the last day of my 46th semester teaching at Arizona State University.
When I told my students that I have 14 semesters left they asked, “What happens then?!”
I answered, “I graduate.”
And what an education teaching has been. It has allowed me the immense pleasure of being more deeply immersed in my own field: contemporary literature and publishing. I have had so many wonderful colleagues, smart conversations, and lovely summers off.
But by far the most important lesson I take away is how satisfying it is to identify another person’s talents and encourage them to focus, practice, and excel. Working with Superstition Review is a unique opportunity because the magazine is their portfolio: a tangible item they can present and discuss in job interviews and graduate school applications, and that I can talk about at length when I act as a reference or write a letter of recommendation. Each of the students I mentor has endless layers of enthusiasm, creativity, intelligence, and skill. My great joy is focusing on something specific they do well that we can showcase during their short time working on the magazine. I act as coach, mentor, and encouraging friend.
I can’t say I made up this approach. In my 23 years teaching at ASU I have reported directly to five people: Keith Miller for 2 years, Duane Roen for 2 years, Maureen Daly Goggin for 2 years, Greg Glau for 6 years, Duane Roen again for 3 years, and Ian Moulton for 7 years. It’s rare in academia to have such consistency in leadership. Maybe it’s rare in business too.
But I am so grateful to these five people for helping me to grow as an educator and person. Each one of them gave me opportunity, courage, and encouragement. Special thanks to Duane Roen, who is so nice he hired me twice (and is also currently my Dean and my Provost)! He was also the person who said YES! when I had the idea of starting the magazine. His support and trust made all of this possible.
And huge thanks to my current Department Head Ian Moulton, who has given me some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten as a teacher and human, including the line: “Think of the work as practice not perfection.” For my Type A brain, this helped me flip a switch that made me more effective in the classroom and while walking around in the world. Ian also offered unwavering support to me when both of my parents died within 5 months of each other. He was gracious, generous, caring, and kind and I can’t imagine surviving that year without him.
I hope to pass on half the strength and help to my students that my mentors have passed on to me.
Here are my 46 semesters by the numbers:
Taught 206 classes at ASU.
Lived in 2 condominiums and 3 houses.
Won 1 book award for poetry.
Published 1 chapbook.
Taught over 5000 students.
Had 1 amazing partner, John Hetrick.
Lost both my parents and both John’s parents.
Won 2 teaching awards.
Traveled to 36 countries.
Received 1 letter from Michael Crow congratulating me on my poetry!
Published 89 poems in literary magazines.
Competed in 88 races from 5K to Half Ironman.
Made $951,583 in salary from ASU.
Made $64,385 as a writer.
Attended 13 AWP conferences.
Loved on 2 cats and 3 dogs.
Published over 700 artists and authors in Superstition Review.
Took over 25,000 photographs.
I am really looking forward to my next 7 years teaching. I’m thrilled about the possibilities, and I can’t wait to see where my students will lead me.
I’m also kind of exhausted. And I’m looking forward to a lovely summer off! I’ll be teaching Travel Writing for ASU Online, and I will spend a month at Djerassi working on my memoir. I’ll attend a family reunion in Minnesota and a friend reunion in Denver. You’ll also see me haunting the trails of South Mountain.
