Curriculum Vitae Series by Katrina Jackson

What's life like on the tenure track? For Assistant Professor of Sociology, Dr. Deja Evans, it sucks. Hard. Every day. Between the class prep, the meetings, grading student work, trying to find time to complete her own research and the meetings, she didn't have a life, she had a digital calendar that decided whether she got to wallow in her feelings at 3pm or 7pm, on Thursday or maybe Sunday... moreWhat's life like on the tenure track? For Assistant Professor of Sociology, Dr. Deja Evans, it sucks. Hard. Every day. Between the class prep, the meetings, grading student work, trying to find time to complete her own research and the meetings, she didn't have a life, she had a digital calendar that decided whether she got to wallow in her feelings at 3pm or 7pm, on Thursday or maybe Sunday. And the worst meeting of them all was the two-and-a-half-hour, once a month Faculty Senate, which was drier than her dating life, duller than her skin in winter and far longer than her attention span. The only thing that made those never-ending Faculty Senate meetings bearable was watching Dr. Alejandro Mendoza, Associate Professor of History, breathe. For years, Deja had harbored a kind of secret crush on the sexiest man on campus never thinking that he would ever feel the same, until one unexpected day, they have a steamy after hours encounter in her office and suddenly her life seems much more exciting.That lasts about half a minute. Over the course of a hectic academic year, Deja tries to survive her classes, help her students, prepare herself for her third-year review, and most important of all, she has to learn how to get out of her own way and just let Alejandro love her. less

Toni had a plan for the summer: rest, relaxation, and renovation. In the summer before her sabbatical year, all she wanted was to disentangle herself from her job. No work emails. Not departmental or university politics. No Dr. Antonia Ward.But during the last week of classes, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Dr. Mike Hernandez... moreToni had a plan for the summer: rest, relaxation, and renovation. In the summer before her sabbatical year, all she wanted was to disentangle herself from her job. No work emails. Not departmental or university politics. No Dr. Antonia Ward.But during the last week of classes, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Dr. Mike Hernandez. The colleague she's known for years and never once thought twice about, suddenly seems taller, his voice seems deeper, and every time they find themselves alone together, they can't keep their hands to themselves.In the end, Mike made sure that Toni's actual summer plans were live, laugh, and love. Thankfully, Toni already knew he was corny, but she found out that he was so much more. less