A week in the books

I’m almost through my first week here at Lehigh. The office is still unpacked, the syllabus needs more tweaking, and I’m still lost all over campus. But, I’m getting the hang of it.

The thing that jumps out right now is how utterly calm I feel about this transition. New starts almost always make me nervous, but not this one. I feel very much at home here. Maybe it’s the incredible people I continue to meet on campus or the level of support I’m getting in so many unexpected areas, or maybe it’s just the culture. Whatever it is (and I’ll figure it out as time goes along, hopefully so I can be part of continuing that), every day I’m here is only confirmation that I’m in the right place and that we made the right choice to come here.

And the great thing is that it’s not just happening with me. When I see stories like I saw today about 325 student volunteers basically moving the new freshmen in, and see a picture of our new Provost helping out as well, it makes me smile. People volunteer and pitch in to make sure this place is special. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and be part of it all.

Obviously every place has its challenges, and I learned from orientation that Lehigh has its fair share. To me, though, attitude is everything and I have run into loads of positivity and pitching in.

Like I said, it’s the right place for me, and I think that’s a big reason why I’m so calm right now.

The other standout thing from the first week is I have some adjustments to make. I’ve been living in a grad student world for so long, calling people by their titles and deferring to their expertise. The process of emerging from that cocoon and becoming an independent scholar in my own right is a different thing.

It’s weird, first of all, to have the same title as them in my name. And now do I address them by their first name or by their title? Basically there are new social rules that I’m not used to, and I’m still not sure how to handle it so I’ll probably make a few mistakes. Also, how do I confidently express my views without losing collegiality? As a doc student it’s easy, you just defer and hedge. As a PhD, I don’t think I can get away with that so much. And I know that sometimes when I say what I think I do it so strongly that people interpret it as arrogance regardless of my intent (I’ve never figured out how to solve this problem). My M.O. for now is to learn the culture and pick my spots to add input, but treating people with kindness is my overriding goal. I figure that should cover some sins here and there as I learn to navigate a new environment.

Finally, what strikes me is how prepared I feel for this, at least mentally. The first year is a grind for new professors, and few have been shy to note that. But the thing is, a lot of the warnings I heard this week about how to make the transition were a repeat of things I heard in doc classes and mentoring at Mizzou. It was good to have those things confirmed, but I’m struck by how well Missouri prepared me for this moment.

Sure, it’s quite another thing to actually go through it and so there are trials ahead, but I can’t complain that nobody told me about this beforehand. And I’m mindful that not all doc programs do as good a job at this as Missouri’s.

Classes start next week, and I’m raring to go. In many ways, I’ve been waiting for this moment since last December.