Graduation Year: '93

Email address: grams@tconl.com

Hello all--I graduated in '93 and went to philosophy grad school at Emory, where I specialized in Ancient Greek philosophy. My advisors were absolutely
wonderful, and the Emory program has other good aspects (mainly the quality of various professors). It also has a few negative qualities (mostly related
to the structure of the program itself); if any students are considering graduate study, I would be glad to share my experiences and observations
(please e-mail).

Presently I teach at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where again I am lucky to be surrounded by the most pleasant, interesting colleagues. My
husband Jason and I are both from Nebraska, so we are happy to be living near our families. I am relieved to find that, indeed, it is possible to pursue
philosophy as a "profession" without losing philosophy as a "way of life". I had often heard (and still do hear) remarks about grad school being somewhat
stifling, killing off the joy that originally inspired interest in the field, but I found it intellectually enriching and exciting. Teaching is also even better than I had expected it would be--and my expectations were quite high! Each class brings new challenges and new people to learn with and from, and is more thrilling than the last. If you
suspect that teaching is a profession that will bring you joy and intellectual satisfaction, my advice would be to go for it. I know teachers are not always
rewarded financially, compared to other choices you might have before you, but the happiness is real. You're always pushed to grow and improve, and you can
sometimes see immediate results, where you know you've helped students to achieve something better than they had previously thought themselves capable
of doing. I remain glad that I chose to major in philosophy. To be honest, there was never any "choice" about it, really... However, I've also noticed
that certain of my colleagues, and some from Williams (Kurt Shaw and Ethan Zuckerman spring to mind right now, but I know there are others), who chose this course of study have been inspired to materialize their ethical visions, sometimes internationally, sometimes locally. Study of philosophy seems to lend itself
to this kind of constructive creativity, in spite of the "head in the clouds" or pristine ivory tower image it is often assigned. I look forward to seeing
what other students here will go on to build.