My working motto is think like a scientist, dream like a poet; education is the way I realize those values in my communities.
In my day job, I work for a science education grant that partners sciences with school teachers to generate novel cutting-edge curricula and build experience, infrastructure for improved implementation of our curricula and science education in general. On a day-to-day basis my bland 'Assistant' job title encompasses an ever-shifting combination of acting webmaster, backup lab technician, copy editor, layout editor, tech consultant, researcher, archivist, assistant project manager, and administrative assistant. Compared to other jobs I might get at my level of education & experience, the pay is lower & the benefits essentially non-existent, but in compensation I get paid to acquire skills & expertise of use to our team (& to me career-wise!), and I get to work with incredibly competent people who are willing & happy to help me grow & advance as a professional.
I got the job via somewhat circuitous route - I'd worked for boss boss a few years back as a lab technician, and apparently been memorable for my attention to detail & facility with coaxing certain ancient software programs to do their job properly. She contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing some tech consultant work on an ad-hoc basis for the education grant team, and that rapidly turned into full-time work when a different job opportunity fell through.
Poetry-wise, I founded the poetry discussion community POETREE @ Dreamwidth (poetree), and continue to run it with my co-admin alee_grrl. Over the last year and a half, we've spent quite a bit of time thinking through & experimenting with different ways of building community around poetry, and nurturing people's poetry confidence (to adapt a framework from kaberett's excellent Tech confidence vs. tech competence article). I've learned that I'm great at not only thinking of interesting ideas, but also working with other people to get them initiated. I've also learned that I need anticipate & construct work-arounds for the periods where things that I find fun / casual to do suddenly feel like enormous crushing burdens, and especially in such circumstances delegation is my friend. (This is why it's good to have a co-admin - thank you, alee_grrl!)
What am I 'good' at? Articulation. A certain fearlessness about owning my voice that isn't necessarily self-confidence or charisma or bravery or arrogance or strength or bossiness or wisdom or irreverence, but has elements of all those in varying proportions. Listening, when I am relaxed enough (or consciously remember) to be quiet inside. Thinking interdependently and independently, and the self-awareness to know which is which at any given time. Metaphorical and literal vision, both internal and external, in the moment with what is directly in front of me and long term, both pro- and retrospective. Finding small opportunities for grace to creep into my everyday. Appreciating people. Making stuff work, and figuring out how to make it work better. (Software, institutions, infrastructure...)
three graces in new guise: science, poetry, and education
In my day job, I work for a science education grant that partners sciences with school teachers to generate novel cutting-edge curricula and build experience, infrastructure for improved implementation of our curricula and science education in general. On a day-to-day basis my bland 'Assistant' job title encompasses an ever-shifting combination of acting webmaster, backup lab technician, copy editor, layout editor, tech consultant, researcher, archivist, assistant project manager, and administrative assistant. Compared to other jobs I might get at my level of education & experience, the pay is lower & the benefits essentially non-existent, but in compensation I get paid to acquire skills & expertise of use to our team (& to me career-wise!), and I get to work with incredibly competent people who are willing & happy to help me grow & advance as a professional.
I got the job via somewhat circuitous route - I'd worked for boss boss a few years back as a lab technician, and apparently been memorable for my attention to detail & facility with coaxing certain ancient software programs to do their job properly. She contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing some tech consultant work on an ad-hoc basis for the education grant team, and that rapidly turned into full-time work when a different job opportunity fell through.
Poetry-wise, I founded the poetry discussion community POETREE @ Dreamwidth (
What am I 'good' at? Articulation. A certain fearlessness about owning my voice that isn't necessarily self-confidence or charisma or bravery or arrogance or strength or bossiness or wisdom or irreverence, but has elements of all those in varying proportions. Listening, when I am relaxed enough (or consciously remember) to be quiet inside. Thinking interdependently and independently, and the self-awareness to know which is which at any given time. Metaphorical and literal vision, both internal and external, in the moment with what is directly in front of me and long term, both pro- and retrospective. Finding small opportunities for grace to creep into my everyday. Appreciating people. Making stuff work, and figuring out how to make it work better. (Software, institutions, infrastructure...)