As a child, I spent much of my time reading, writing stories, and pretending to be a teacher. One of my favorite and most memorable birthday gifts was a chalkboard at age four, and my teachers were my heroes. It is therefore entirely unsurprising that I became a professor. Without even knowing it, I followed the recommendation in Plato’s Republic to play at what you will one day do.
It didn’t occur to me right away to follow the path to becoming a professor, however. As a first-generation college student, I did not even know what office hours were for, let alone that I– a person from a lower-middle class background who certainly did not “fit in” at an elite institution– could pursue a Ph.D. I aspired, instead, to become a journalist and, hopefully one day, a creative writer. Fortunately (as is clear now in retrospect), the introductory journalism class was full my first semester and I needed another class to fill my schedule. I signed up for the only available course that called out to me: Professor Eduardo Velásquez’s 8am introduction to political philosophy class. After reading Plato’s Republic, I was hooked. Over the course of my remaining studies in Virginia and then Wisconsin, I fell in love with the philosophic way of life, had life-changing experiences studying abroad in Senegal and England, and discovered my calling as a political theory professor.
I am ever grateful to have a job I love, a job that gives me the feeling of “finally, I get to do this!” when I sit down to write or when I walk into the classroom to discuss the most important matters in life with an array of individuals from all over the world. I still can’t believe that I had the opportunity to publish a work of political fiction for a major journal in my field, fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a creative writer. And every time I spend the day reading and writing about music and politics in Greek antiquity, I wonder at how I got so lucky.
When not hard at work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our two adorable little boys, listening to music (mostly classic and indie rock), running, traveling, going to the beach, reading great works of literature, and writing creative fiction. I am also an avid Packers fan and an adventure seeker with a major love of roller-coasters.
