Ph.D. Pros(e)A blog on the intersection of academics & industry.

Hi and welcome to my blog! You may be wondering who I am and why I feel I need a blog. Well after 15 years in the advertising, marketing and public relations industries, I made the decision to go back to school to work on my Ph.D. at Texas Tech University. During my industry career I found that there were typically two kinds of people…those that were labeled as “creative” and those that weren’t. In fact those that were in the “non-creative” category usually found themselves pigeon-holed in account service, media, accounting or research. So the “non-creative” label was also applied to those in academia…you know the theory nerds who use words like posited, hegemony, comodification and pedagogy with regularity.

I on the other hand may have started my career as a creative but found I could actually do (and enjoy) both. Perhaps the worst insult I ever received was from a paranoid, burned-out, washed-up, and bitter interviewer that told me “I’ve generally found those people who say they are a jack of all trades are generally a master of none.” Ummm…thanks, but no thanks. And then perhaps the best (?) compliment I ever received came from a client who told me I was “a geek with a personality.”

So here I am…15 years of experience in both client-side and agency-side promotion. I’ve worked in and with hospital systems, financial institutions and a myriad of other industries. I’ve helped clients develop brands, plan strategies and conduct research. I’ve written copy, made countless presentations, pitched feature stories, designed logos, created layouts, and taught software graphics classes. Now I’m teaching undergrads, researching topics of interest and absorbing all things academic.

And unlike that nearsighted interviewer from my past, I do think it is possible to do more than one thing at a time. Now do I have the time to all the things I love? NO! Am I superwoman? Sadly I have discovered I am not. To be honest I feel extremely A.D.D. about all of my interests, both personal and professional.  But perhaps one day, when I grow up, I’ll decide what I really want to do for the rest of my life! Until then I’ll keep on sampling life as I go!