I keep telling myself each academic year: Karen, you are going to slow down! You will have some free time on your hands and let’s face it – how can you top last year’s semester with a truly amazing and professionally lifechanging client opportunity?
This fall semester responded right back at me: Karen, hold my coffee!
My first semester back after taking my sabbatical earlier this year was completely full and packed. l had something I was doing on a regular basis each week. I have been working on more projects than I could have ever imagined, collaborated with some amazing researchers on projects and publications for 2020. So far, I have three projects that have been accepted for publication, two book chapters, and a few more that will be implemented in the upcoming year.
I was also able to work with the great team at Adobe as well this term – including a trip up to NYC and Adobe Max and EDUMax!
Oh! And to top things off – my PR class worked with one of the biggest brands out there in the social media space as a class client: Facebook Blueprint.
No big deal, right?! This was truly a great experience. My students were able to conduct research, propose strategies and ideas, and come up with their insights on how to approach engaging with educators and students for the upcoming year. The students in the class did a great job, and I am very proud of the work they were able to produce for Facebook. Working with the Facebook team (Nicole, Mark, and Dave) has been one of the best experiences I’ve had as a professor. This term I was able to work with them in two capacities.
One as a professor where they served as a class client for my PR class at the University of Louisville, and second as a subject matter expert (otherwise known as SME) to help them create, brainstorm, and think about how to approach content for their upcoming digital marketing associate’s certification.
This opportunity allowed me to both apply and use my research and experience in social media pedagogy, and it was truly tremendous. I am forever grateful to Nicole, Mark, and Dave to have the chance to work with them.
What I have to say is amazing is the fact – while this semester was filled with lots of projects, duties, work, and travel – I felt more relaxed than I have in previous semesters. I have had the conversation with many professors and friends on how to balance research, teaching, and service, and I have found some things that really worked for me this semester:
Balance is key. You got to think about your role as an educator as not just a researcher or teacher, but also a consultant, speaker, and professional who wants to make a difference and impact on the field. I tried to mix up the projects and duties I had each day where I was not doing the same thing each day.
Exercising your mind AND body. As a former athlete – I have of course embraced exercise – and it is so important to do it every day. I upped my work this semester not only by continuing to go to OrangeTheory (best thing ever!), but I upgraded so I could go every day. That hour – while sometimes is pretty hard – really allows me to relax and get some physical activity in. I’ve found my productivity to be very effectively after I take an OTF class. Find something you feel allows you to be active and that you enjoy!
Boundaries are crucial. I have always had these in place to place value on time to relax and do other things – but I would say this time I put things in motion in a systematic way. I actually set alarms for myself on my phone for when it was time to relax for the day. I would only do things that I HAD to do after a certain point of time during the day, but I usually ended my day and work efforts at 6 pm.
Priorities may change and that’s okay. I found this semester to be really interesting since I was able to go to five conferences – but only ONE was purely academic. This is a huge shift for me as a professor – I used to go to only academic conferences and perhaps *one* industry conference a year. Now, I am leaning more towards attending industry events. For me, it’s absolutely key to stay connected of course to the academic world, but equally so, to the industry. This trend will be increasing in Spring 2020 as well.
This semester has indeed been a whirlwind, and it was awesome to have some great students this term, and to have had the opportunity to collaborate and work with brands such as Facebook and Adobe. 2020 will be here in a few weeks – marking a new year and decade. From where I am sitting, it’s going to be another great year as well!
Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
