Faculty Position Announcement

This year as I turned 30, I had a super-great-birthday planned and then cancelled, and then delayed and then cancelled. Why? Because I was busy. Busy oh-so-busy prepping for job applications. Then I went offline and privatized my blog (just in case even though it was completely unnecessary) and just kind of kept quiet about things. 

Remember how I have that weird superstition that your birthday sets the tone for your year?
I'll come back to that in just 2 more months, but so far, it's holding strong. 

Despite all of the busy, things turned out in favor of those who work hard and prepare well for difficult things to come in their lives (me). That is just another way of saying, because of a lot of hard work, dedication and a little luck, I'll be starting a faculty position at Brigham Young University (the mormon private school) in the chemistry department in the fall (but really it feels like next week). And it's a combination of exciting and terrifying in varying degrees depending on the day. 

This comes at a particularly public time for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Here are some things on my mind: 1. I am a faithful practicing mormon who also has a Ph.D. 2. I currently do not have children, but when I do, I will still continue to work. 3. I decided to work at BYU because of the feel of the department and the intelligence of the students and the access to resources. 4. My family will live closer than ever, and it will be good to have a constant support structure because your mid-twenties full of transient people in your life is hard. 5. I'm a curious question asker who is faithfully increasing my own understanding of my relationship to God. 6. All of these statements are packed full of explanation that shall not be discussed here. 7. There are so many many manymanymany thoughts.

So yes. I'm ecstatic about moving on to the final big step of the faculty academic life. And yes, I'm absolutely and equally devastated to be leaving Boston. Cambridge specifically, has really felt like home for the first time in 5 years and the growth and friendship I have experienced here will be valued forever. 

Comments

faith said…
Congratulations, Kara! That is really exciting. I hope all your preparations go smoothly and that things transition well. Good luck with the move!
2:31 AM
k nelle said…
Thank you Faith!
10:17 AM
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