I Finally Know What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

Abstract

Why is it that we are always expected to have an answer for what we want to be when we grow up? From a very young age, children are asked what they would like to become—fireman, teacher, or, my youngest son’s response a few years ago, a monster truck driver. It starts with preschoolers. Then, as we hit the teenage years, career aspirations become more of a threat. My husband heard this at one point in his teenage years: “You don’t want to dig ditches when you grow up, do you?” We face serious choices as we complete high school, and for those of us who go on to college, we are hit with another round of more ominous decisions a few years later. What, exactly, do we plan to do after graduation? A few people are fortunate to have a clear picture of where they are going next. Others seem to avoid the decision-making process as long as possible or take some time off, perhaps a gap year, as they decide where to go next. But the underlying question is always the same. What do you want to be when you grow up?

About the Author

Education and Professional Career

1990:

BS cum laude with Honors in Chemistry, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

1996:

PhD Organic Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

1996–1998:

Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Atlanta, GA

1998–2004:

Visiting Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

2006–2007:

Visiting Associate Professor, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

2008–2009:

Visiting Senior Lecturer, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

2009–present:

Senior Lecturer, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

2014–present:

Member of the Organic Education Resources Leadership Board, www.organicers.org

Honors and Awards (Selected)

2013:

Dean of Faculty Teaching Award for Visiting and Adjunct Faculty, Dartmouth College

Over the last 20 years, Cathy has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate chemistry courses. Her academic interests include demystifying organic chemistry, developing new laboratory experiments, and training student teaching assistants as the next generation of educators.