If you know me then perhaps you know that physics and I have a very interesting relationship. It’s a relationship that’s more hate than love at times and a relationship that has shown me the limit of my own efforts and revealed the magnitude of God’s faithfulness. I love physics, but I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my physics degree. While I know without a doubt this is what I’m supposed to do, God has yet to reveal to me what lies ahead at the end of my yellow brick road.
I entered the applied physics program with every intention to finish quickly, get out and make money. I mean, what’s the point of doing all this if you can’t make money, right? I didn’t want to be a professor, too much work and not enough money. As a grad student, you see a lot (tenure track professors sleeping on couches in their offices and pushing their grad students beyond human limits). Nope, that wasn’t for me. I told myself I’d make money, then I’d come back to the academy, then I’d become a champion for other underrepresented physicists.
However, now I just don’t think it will work out that way. You see, God tends to speak to me in subtle hints. First, my college room mate of four years, who is now a grad student in higher education, asked me the rhetorical question, “Don’t you know what an impact you’d make as a young, fly sister doing physics in the academy?” Then at an event I attended, the keynote speaker said, “ Being yourself is a great testimony.” And she showed a picture of an amazingly beautiful doctor rocking a fro and ethnic gold jewelry. But the COOLEST thing for me was seeing a young assistant professor give a physics seminar in chucks and a cardigan. That was like the coolest thing EVER in life (added significance). At that moment I could see myself as a professor. I could imagine myself in my chucks teaching physics and working in the lab. (It's a dream of mine to become a rock star physicist...putting the cool back in physics one equation at a time.)
And now, I find myself at this conference the 17th Annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. Truth be told, I signed up because I was encouraged to attend, and I wanted to take advantage of a free trip to Tampa in October to escape the Michigan cold and to enjoy the Tampa warmth. And come to find out, the goal of the conference is to prepare underrepresented scholars for life in the academy. During this conference I’ve seen several women who’ve managed to balance excellence in research while maintaining a fulfilling lives outside the lab. It’s kind of cool hearing a female professor testifying to 33 years of marriage, being the director of an advancement program and being a great researcher. So perhaps it is possible. Perhaps I can avoid stuffing an Ikea couch in my office. And maybe...just maybe I can become a rock star physicist while maintaining a very down to earth and content life and manage to get a little bit of money too. (Gotta be able to afford box seats one day.)
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