The Interview

Phew! So I made it through the campus visit!! And I am giving myself the night off! After dealing with some work email, that is.

Sam is napping, I have a silly favorite movie playing, and I'm catching up on the blog. Nice.

So... let's see...

The campus visit went well. I think. I hope. They offered me a hotel for the night before, and I accepted figuring driving to Indy in time to arrive for an 8:30 interview was not the best formula for success. For those of you don't know, I'm not the most confident (or competent??) driver -- and even if that isn't true, I really just don't like it and often feel frazzled. Driving is scary. I mean, we just trust that others will do what they are supposed to and what if I make a bad judgment call and... anyway, that's not the topic of this post. To make things even more comfy, Aaron decided to come down with me. That way I could feed Sam and be near the boys I love as I prep for the big day. Aaron and Sam had planned to pal around Indy checking out the art museum and such, but since Aaron had a bunch of school work to do he decided to drive back to Lafayette to work and then come BACK to Indy to pick me up when I was done. Phew! And to make things MORE complicated, there was a significant amount of snow coming in yesterday afternoon. Aaron's trip to pick me up ended up being 4 or 5 hours in the car. Sheesh! Thanks Aaron! The man I love!

I wore my suit, and a borrowed shirt from Meg since the two I bought (figuring I'd for sure have a good option) didn't work. Thanks Meg! I had heeled boots. It was funny. But good. I felt appropriately dressed. I should have gotten pictures, haha. I wore a black wool coat I purchased from a flea market a few summers ago, as opposed to my down coat with little squirrels and birdies on the inside -- think I fooled 'em??

Teaching was the most awkward part of the class. I had to lead a discussion on some readings and the topic is kind of lame -- goal setting/time management/thinking creatively. I don't normally lead readings in the classroom because I teach studio art, but if I get this job, leading discussions will be something I'd have to learn to do. It was a little rocky, but not bad. And by the time I got to the brainstorming exercises, people had fun. Did they learn anything? I dunno. I sure would do things differently, but...don't I always think that? It definitely wasn't horrible.

That was early on, and then I had a mix of other activities including meeting the provost, HR, lunch with the dean, campus tour, open meet n greet, and the final "interview" with the committee. Everyone was SUPER nice. Next to teaching, lunch with the dean was the most awkward part. The restaurant was very busy and VERY COLD and we had an ok chat I guess, but a lunch with a stranger is probably always awkward, especially when you know they are sizing you up. No one came to the open student/faculty meet the candidate thing -- well, one faculty from theatre did so we had fun talking masks and costumes and stuff since that stuff is so up my alley. And I think I successfully answered all the questions for the last part of the interview. For the most part I felt comfortable talking with everyone and felt as though I represented myself well -- experienced, skilled, confident, but acknowledged I'm knew to this stuff and eager to jump in and do stuff and make a difference, blah blah blah. Augh. Interviews are weird. But I never felt like I had to make a sell, except for maybe with the dean. Everything else was very normal conversation and discussions about values of art education, how to reach students, how to cross divides between campus and community, working across disciplines, etc etc. I didn't need half of what I printed out, but I guess I'm glad it was there. They were impressed with the little "sample syllabi" packet that I put together thanks to a friend's suggestion (Thanks Ursula!). I emailed a thank you note this am and they said they were impressed with my interview so I don't think I've been scratched off the list yet. I was the first of the three campus visits, so I won't hear for a few weeks. Wish me luck!

I really want the job. I am so excited about the benefits of working in higher education. I could get more degrees!! for free! And I like being a student :) And Sam could get free school! You know, once he grows up and all. And it's a growing program; I could perhaps really make a difference in what happens there. I dunno. It's ok if it doesn't work out. They very well might want a more seasoned prof. And that's cool I guess. I mean, I can't have more experience than I have. It is what it is (that's for you Aaron).

SOOO in baby-related interview notes... I didn't try pumping during the interview. I was about to explode by the end. And then the drive home was a couple of hours and I forgot to have the pump in the car. I managed to express some to relieve the pain and then fed Sam and pumped once I got home. That was interesting!

Here are some pics Aunt Meg took while she was babysitting yesterday... I sure missed Sam while I was away!