When I grow up, I want to teach Ornithology at my alma mater. I was an honor student at Brookstone. I loved my time there, and I would love to get back.

A year ago, I got a call from a friend and mentor who works there. He asked me if I knew anyone who would teach Ornithology there. I asked every former colleague I could think of. All my folks from back in grad school. I even asked my old professors if they new anyone. Nothing.

When I got back to my friend, he told me he was actually asking for me. I was floored. Mr. Pate was the iconic teacher of Ornithology at Brookstone when I was there. By the time I had him, he was in his 70s, so I never got prime Mr. Pate. But he was legendary. He took folks on road trips across the country during the summers. They covered so much ground, they had to change tires twice. He was a master of the subject. A true naturalist. He knew the value of experiential learning before it was a thing. To think of filling those shoes was daunting but exhilarating.

At the time, I just couldn’t do it. It didn’t make financial sense for my family. I had a good job. I was on a good career path. This is all still true. But I can’t get the idea out of my head. So here I am, writing about it.

I do see one path forward. My oldest is starting 3K in the fall. As my kids get older, I could see myself teaching at Brookstone. I could teach Ornithology, Statistics, Computer Science, and many more. This is my dream job. It fits my 2024 theme, Integration. I plan to write about it more in my teaching statement. My whole family could revolve around Brookstone. I’m going to leave it as a dream for now. But I’m going to keep preparing along the way. And I’m going to keep writing about it. One day it might just happen. And I want to be ready!