What is not in an academic CV: A Nonlinear Path Through Science and Education
Academic CVs often seem straightforward and linear, which might be the reality for some, but maybe not for most of us, but there is always more to how we move through a career or an academic journey. I'd like to acknowledge the varied paths, the importance of failures and learning that does not make it on polished resumes. My path to science and education is a series of squiggly lines, and to stay with the land and water theme, it's more akin to a meandering and braided river than a canal (and there are droughts and floods).
In my younger years, I thought I was going to work with art, or maybe "(...) something with psychology". My plans changed often and most of the time it felt like a failure (for example, being rejected from art school). In hindsight, however, it’s easy for me to see how this path makes a lot of sense. In my work today, I get to integrate all these different interests in ways I could never have predicted when I was a confused and mildly disillusioned 20-year-old.
Some of this might correlate with my neurodivergent traits. I’m dyslexic, a curious word that means I have difficulty spelling words like dyslexic. Like most terms for neurodivergence, it emphasizes what we cannot do (e.g., read or write) when the different way of processing information underlying the named symptom can be an important asset. What I know for sure is that my interest in education, universal design for learning, and equity in research and education has roots in my experiences with dyslexia.
While I knew about my dyslexia early on, I more recently discovered that not everybody sees numbers as colors the way I do (synesthesia, which is also impossible to spell, by the way). To me, this is a perfect illustration of blind spots: I assumed that everyone experiences the world this way, and without outside information, I could not have revised this mistaken assumption. To me, this is another important aspect of varied paths we have: when and how do we recover from some of our blind spots (if ever)?
My more dangerous blind spots relate to my identity and positionality as an ethnic European middle-class woman from Germany. With this identity, I’m prone to making faulty assumptions that can help keep damaging systems of oppression firmly in place. This is realization that came much later in my life than I would like to admit, and I’m still learning. I love the work by Loretta Ross on the difference between calling out (and invitation to a fight) and calling in (an investment in another person's growth). While I fundamentally consider it my responsibility to do the learning, I'm grateful for friends, colleagues and students who are regularly investing in my growth this way! In turn, an important part of my work as an individual and as a leader of research and education efforts centers around the need for making space for important conversations, to learn from each other and to balance support and accountability.
In my younger years, I thought I was going to work with art, or maybe "(...) something with psychology". My plans changed often and most of the time it felt like a failure (for example, being rejected from art school). In hindsight, however, it’s easy for me to see how this path makes a lot of sense. In my work today, I get to integrate all these different interests in ways I could never have predicted when I was a confused and mildly disillusioned 20-year-old.
Some of this might correlate with my neurodivergent traits. I’m dyslexic, a curious word that means I have difficulty spelling words like dyslexic. Like most terms for neurodivergence, it emphasizes what we cannot do (e.g., read or write) when the different way of processing information underlying the named symptom can be an important asset. What I know for sure is that my interest in education, universal design for learning, and equity in research and education has roots in my experiences with dyslexia.
While I knew about my dyslexia early on, I more recently discovered that not everybody sees numbers as colors the way I do (synesthesia, which is also impossible to spell, by the way). To me, this is a perfect illustration of blind spots: I assumed that everyone experiences the world this way, and without outside information, I could not have revised this mistaken assumption. To me, this is another important aspect of varied paths we have: when and how do we recover from some of our blind spots (if ever)?
My more dangerous blind spots relate to my identity and positionality as an ethnic European middle-class woman from Germany. With this identity, I’m prone to making faulty assumptions that can help keep damaging systems of oppression firmly in place. This is realization that came much later in my life than I would like to admit, and I’m still learning. I love the work by Loretta Ross on the difference between calling out (and invitation to a fight) and calling in (an investment in another person's growth). While I fundamentally consider it my responsibility to do the learning, I'm grateful for friends, colleagues and students who are regularly investing in my growth this way! In turn, an important part of my work as an individual and as a leader of research and education efforts centers around the need for making space for important conversations, to learn from each other and to balance support and accountability.
