The Gracious Collegiality of Academic Mentors: Local, Historical and Aspirational (and Day #7 of This Crud)

Yesterday, I ventured out of my self-ascribed hospital bed to meet a mentor, academic friend, and role model who came to Fairfield University to do a workshop on academic publishing. Dr. Mary Jane Curry from the University of Rochester brought irreplaceable expertise, advice, guidance, and insight to a full-crowd in the Alumni House.

My biggest fear is Dr. Curry contributed so much and I only contributed my germs, alone. I stayed away from most (or at least I tried). I will feel terrible if I learn anyone got sick with what I have. After a week of this, I'm hoping I am no longer contagious.

I met Dr. Curry several years ago and have known of her work, especially as she edited the Multicultural Matters text, Educating Refugee-Background Students: Critical Issues and Dynamic Backgrounds with Shawna Shapiro and Raichle Farrelly, in which my chapter, "'History Should Come First': Perspectives of Somali-Born, Refugee-Background Male Youth on Writing in and out of School," was published. I like to kid that I've never had anything I've written revised more than this chapter, one begun with the Literacy Research Association Annual Conference and, finally, rethought for this edited collection. As Dr. Curry remarked at the workshop, "The goal wasn't just revision, it was to make the chapter better."

I am forever thankful for her intelligence, guidance, leadership and belief in the work. Indeed, she made the writing better (as did her co-editors who also played a tremendous role in the writing).

Yesterday, however, I took away a theme of Local, Historical and Aspirational (at first, I said National, but Dr. Curry redirected me towards Aspirational which I like much better). At one point, she had the audience write about where they see their work going and to brainstorm the communities who might have an interest in the writing. Looking around the room I quickly saw Drs. Beth Boquet and Betsy Bowen who helped guide my pre-tenure career towards tenure. They are some of my Local peeps - those I go to for professional advice. Much of my thinking, too, belongs to the mentorship of Drs. Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Marcelle Haddix, the research they introduced me to, and the colleagues they've introduced me to across the nation who have written so much before me. They are my Historical peeps. Then I began thinking about the connections I've begun to make through the National Writing Project, NCTE, and LRA communities who have influenced my thinking from afar, and although they are national gurus and individuals I know only from their research, I liked how Dr. Curry helped me to rename it as Aspirational (peeps).

All in all, we are a community and being part of a community means that we often are exploring similar ideas together. For me, it's been teaching writing, professional development in urban schools, young adult literature, the National Writing Project model, Young Adult Literacy Labs, and Writing Activity Genre Research.

I enjoyed every second of the workshop, having what few brain cells I have operating right now, collecting Dr. Mary Jane Curry's wisdom for future work.

What an honor to have her in Stag-Country and to learn so much from her professional kindness. It was a great day.

I returned home to Theraflu, hot tea and a blanket. It's become a norm.