My Journey to Higher Ed

Some of my EDL 561 students wondered how I got into higher ed after I posted a VoiceThread which detailed my university experience. Let me explain here.

I noted previously that I "fell into" higher ed. That's true. It was never in my early career plan to work as an administrator at a university. In junior high I thought I might like to be a translator because I took several years of Spanish and enjoyed it. Then I became more interested in journalism through my work on the newspaper and year book in high school. I believe I did start out in college at the University of West Florida as a journalism major, but I found the inverted triangle style of writing (just the facts, ma'am) left little room for creativity. One course with Professor Tom Groth, Ad Man Extraordinaire, and I was hooked on advertising. Here was the job that allowed me to be creative!

I followed my undergraduate degree with a graduate program in Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Alabama. While there I learned a desktop publishing program called QuarkXpress. It would prove to be the thing that helped me get my foot in the door of higher education.

Immediately after graduating with my master's degree I joined my husband (David) of one year in Moscow, Russia, where he was enrolled in a study abroad program for his Russian language and literature major. I got a job at The Moscow Times, an English language newspaper for the expat community, in the advertising production department. Dave and I enjoyed our Russian experience so much that we extended for another year and I continued working for The Moscow Times.

On returning to the states we settled in Birmingham, Alabama where I worked temp jobs while I searched for suitable employment. UAB was looking for someone to produce their class schedule. This was back in the 90's when the class schedule was in newspaper format and since UAB was on the quarter system (plus a Maymester), the schedule came out five times a year. My graphic design skills, which have since badly eroded, got me the job; so I fell into higher ed. What I discovered was how very comfortable I felt in the college environment. Cheesey as it sounds, for the first time in my working life, I felt like I really belonged where I was working.

The rest is history. I moved to other positions at UAB, realized that I liked learning and helping others learn, took advantage of tuition benefits to get my doctorate, and was lucky enough to land a job at USA in 2006. Here I am six (wow!) year later, helping to introduce others to the joys of higher ed and to turn out higher ed professionals who will improve the field and the lives of college students!

Beginnings of a Blog

So fall semester is just around the corner...faculty are busily putting the finishing touches on their courses, students are (hopefully) enjoying their final days of freedom, and stoic staff are bracing for the onslaught of questions, calls, e-mails and visits from both of the previous two groups mentioned, panicked, uncertain, stressed as only a new semester can cause them to be. In spite of this there is a sense of excitement, a feeling of embarking on a new path, even for those of us who have seen a LOT of semesters come and go.

I recently had a conversation with an administrator who said that "this" (meaning higher education) was the best job in the world. My immediate response was to laugh, but he was sincere. This got me to thinking about my own career. I discovered upon some reflection that I really do love my job. Higher ed is going through rough times with decreased funding, rising costs, increasing scrutiny and accountability, and a depressed economy. Uncertainty is everywhere as students and parents question the value of a college education. Still, many, many of us continue to cherish education and see it as the key to a better self, and a better life, and a better society. Could I envision myself doing anything else? No, not unless someone paid me to travel and experience the world at my own pace, or to write whatever I wanted with no deadlines. Short of that, I'm pretty happy in higher ed.

While I might grumble inwardly at being a problem-solver or pushing paper or dealing with bureaucracy, the end result is that I get satisfaction from helping students. I like learning with them. I like seeing them succeed. 





I "fell into" university life, but I immediately felt comfortable and at home in its environment. Fifteen years later I'm still here, hopeful and excited about the possibilities and the future of higher ed. This blog is a way to share thoughts and ideas and invite conversation about what's happening in higher education. 

Here's to many, many fruitful semesters. - Peggy