Acadian Nest: Chronicles of the Perreault Family: academics

Showing posts with label academics. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Hooray, Pourray for Mommy, Disseration here I come...

Today is the first day I have not been over-stressed in almost six months. I can finally call myself a PhD candidate. It is an amazing feeling, relief and accomplishment. All that stands between me being labeled "Dr. Mimi" is a dissertation. While that's a challenge in itself, I am definitely excited about the research process.

I read an article on Vitae from the Chronicle of Higher Education today. It is written by a woman who works at South Dakota State University in the Journalism. I felt that a lot of what she said was true, but what I noticed is that she did not have a good support structure. Regardless of what career you are in, being a single mom is difficult. I don't have to do what I do alone, and I know that is a privilege and beyond that a gift. That said I understand that academic "motherhood" is a challenge, as is academic "fatherhood."

I am so glad to have a husband who supports me. Our marriage makes any goal easier to take on because we plan for our goals together. However, I can relate to her work-ethic arguments and gender challenges. Despite these challenges, I believe we are making progress in the world of academia. I hope I am an example of what can happen when women and men support female academics and families of academics. Thank you to our Mizzou PhD family for all you have done to support Greg and me in our academic "parenthood."

As I continue on this journey, my children make my accomplishments mean so much more. I know they do not understand the significance of what I am doing right now, but I know our lives will be so much different because of the path we chose to take. With the support of each other, our parents, siblings and friends so much more is possible. We can't do it alone, and we would not want to. Thank you.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Capital Bound Baby!

A few weeks ago the Perreault Family finally made it back to Washington, DC. This city hold so much significance for our family as it was the place Greg and I met in Summer 2004 at the Washington Journalism Center. It was our first time back as a family. Greg and I had an academic conference, AEJMC, where we both presented research and attended sessions. We also presented a book project we were involved in as part of a collaboration between the Reynolds Journalism Institute and Knight Foundation. We stayed in China Town in a hotel for the first part and then with our friends the Kazee Family for the second half. Evangeline loved the City. She loved the buses and Subway train. She loved the people. It made me sad that she is not growing up there with the community we left behind, but I'm glad we are in PhD school and have the opportunities we have here.

Here's some my favorite photos from our trip.