It is amazing how fast time flies by! It seems like yesterday I was in the PhD program at the University of Tennessee, getting ready for comprehensive exams, and moving a few hours away to start my new position at the University of Louisville.
This seemed like yesterday, but this was nearly seven years ago. A lot has happened since then for me – and as I embark on the seventh year here at the University of Louisville, I get to look forward to my sabbatical.
What is a sabbatical? It is a leave a professor takes to conduct research, work on a project, or in some cases, teach abroad in another program, etc. These can be a year long or a semester long. If anyone takes more than a year off, that’s not a sabbatical. It’s a long extended break.
Sabbaticals usually happen after you get tenure. I got tenure back in 2017 (yay!) and I was tasked the following semester to make a proposal on what I wanted to do for my sabbatical. It made me think – what would I like to do for my sabbatical? Did I want to do a year long sabbatical, or just a semester?
There were a few things I knew immediately. First, I wanted my sabbatical to be just a semester long. Second, I wanted it to be during the spring semester.
Personally, I wanted to do something big. Something I had not done before, but always wanted to. I have my own personal bucket list, and it didn’t take me too long to figure out what I wanted to do.
The answer was clear: Teach and do research abroad in Australia with some of the leading thought leaders in the social media business.
That’s right. Yes, I am going to be heading down to Australia next year. I have always wanted to teach aboard. That’s been on my list for years, and I am thrilled I will be able to do this finally. This will also mark the second longest time I have lived in another country (followed by my time in South Africa in 2007).
I will be outside of Brisbane and in the city for part of my time there. I will be down there for a month – working with some of the best in the social media industry.
What all will I be doing? Here are some of the things I will be working on:
- Research
- Teaching
- Workshops
- Meetings with faculty and students
- Exploring and learning all about Australia
I will be spending most of the time down in Australia with one of the BEST professors and researchers in the social media education space. Karen Sutherland is a must follow – her work in and out of the classroom is tremendous. If you are not following her on social media or the work she is doing – you got to! She’s doing some things NO ONE is doing in the social media space for her classes. It’s very impressive and Karen is a global leader in this field.
I was very impressed when I met Karen a few years ago while I was in Melbourne during a PR conference. Since then, Karen has not only established herself as an innovative professor and researcher, but she is starting a social media program at her university (University of the Sunshine Coast) next year. So, to have the chance to learn and work with Karen for my sabbatical – it was a clear choice!
When the opportunity came up for my sabbatical this upcoming year for 2019- I reached out to Karen because I thought this would truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only work with a great professor and researcher on projects, but learn from Karen and how she designed this new program. I am really, really excited!
I will also be spending time with another great professor, Lisa Tam, of QUT in Australia. I’ll be speaking to a few classes and working on a few research projects as well. Thank you Lisa for this great opportunity and I can’t wait to meet everyone in your program!
While I am in Australia, I hope to make my way out to visit a few places where friends are at (ex. Sydney, New Zealand, etc). If you are in the region – please let me know! Would love to meet up.
As you all can see, I am very excited, thrilled, and ready to go for my sabbatical.
While it is a few months away, I am working on getting some final details all squared away. Flight is booked and other things are falling into place. This is definitely an opportunity for me to grow as a scholar, educator, and person as well. I do have a soft spot for Australia as well. This was the first country outside of the US I ever visited (my family and I took our first international family vacation when I was 10 down to Australia). It’s a beautiful country and each time I have visited, I learn and appreciate more about the culture, people, and industry.
I will of course keep you all posted on this for next year. In the meantime, if you are in the area (or nearby!) and would like to meet up – would love to while I am down in Australia!
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
