{"id":6543,"date":"2016-01-30T10:44:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-30T15:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/?p=6543"},"modified":"2016-05-04T16:14:43","modified_gmt":"2016-05-04T20:14:43","slug":"taking-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/taking-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollins\u2019 mission statement<\/a> holds that the university \u201csustains talented students engaged in challenging study, and productive scholars and artists devoted to teaching and the advancement of knowledge.\u201d For decades, study abroad and sabbatical leave programs have enabled students and faculty to enjoy this crucial support beyond the Hollins campus.<\/h3>\n

By Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. \u201911<\/em><\/p>\n

Jill Weber (communication studies) and Rachel Nu\u00f1ez (history) received tenure in 2014 and took their first sabbaticals the following academic year. Seniors Hilla Haidari and Maya Rioux spent their junior year studying abroad. Shortly after returning to campus, all four women reflected on how taking leave helped them grow personally and professionally.<\/strong>
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Maya Rioux \u201916: \u201cGoing abroad makes you adaptable\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"MayaWhile taking a theatre course in London, Maya Rioux \u201916 didn\u2019t anticipate that a classically trained performer would encourage her to pursue a career in acting. She couldn\u2019t have guessed she would overcome a language barrier to bond with an elderly Italian couple in a Venice train station. And she never dreamed that taking part in a Dublin literary pub crawl might open the door to a diplomatic job. Yet those and other spontaneous moments distinguished the year she spent studying abroad, first in Paris<\/a> and then in London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first of the many surprises occurred in the fall of 2014, when Rioux started classes in Paris. \u201cI thought that the Hollins Abroad experience would be similar to a larger university\u2019s abroad experience. You would go, you would take your classes, you wouldn\u2019t necessarily enjoy them, you were there to travel and have a good time. What I wasn\u2019t expecting was to meet some of the most interesting people in my classes who happened to be my professors.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a student in Hollins\u2019 inaugural London Theatre Semester<\/a> during the spring 2015 term, Rioux had as one of her instructors Ellis Jones, past director of England\u2019s Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts. For the Acting Shakespeare class, Jones welcomed a renowned stage actor who had performed with such luminaries as Sir Laurence Olivier and Dame Maggie Smith. Each member of the class had memorized and prepared a Shakespearean sonnet, and Jones stunned Rioux by asking her to perform her piece before their guest.<\/p>\n

\"Icons\"\u201cI was of course shaking after hearing this actor talk about working with all these amazing people. But after I finished he said, \u2018You know, you have remarkable presence. Ellis told me you weren\u2019t necessarily looking at acting as a career, but it\u2019s a phenomenal thing to have presence whether you\u2019re on stage or in a room of people.\u2019 That\u2019s one of the highest compliments I\u2019ve gotten from anyone, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rioux also relished the ease and economy of European travel. One of her favorite travel moments occurred while she was venturing solo from Venice to Zurich. While she waited for her train in the Venice station, an older couple sat next to her. \u201cThe woman spoke to me in Italian for about 20 minutes. I didn\u2019t want to be rude so all I did was nod and say, \u2018Si.\u2019 Her husband had gone to get an espresso and when he came back, he immediately realized what was going on. He said something to her and she just started laughing. He then said to me in simple English, \u2018She had no idea you didn\u2019t speak Italian.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my train came, his wife patted my hand and pointed to it. They waved to me from the platform as the train left. Had I not been traveling alone, I probably wouldn\u2019t have had such a genuine experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a friend who accompanied her on a weekend trip to Ireland fell ill, Rioux toured the Dublin watering holes frequented by such famous authors as James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. \u201cI love Ireland and want to live there, and during the pub crawl I met someone who worked for the Irish Embassy. I mentioned that I wanted to pursue a career in the foreign service, and he said, \u2018Well, if you ever move to Ireland and become a citizen, look me up and we\u2019ll chat about whatever you want to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She believes her yearlong abroad experience is helping her persevere during a hectic and pressured senior year. \u201cI think I\u2019m a lot more tolerant of things. Living in different cultures, you meet a lot of people from different parts of the world. It almost instills in you this inherent patience with other people\u2019s personalities. Going abroad makes you adaptable.\u201d
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Hilla Haidari \u201916: \u201cI\u2019m much more self-sufficient\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"HillaThe history, language, and culture of one particular country have always fascinated Hilla Haidari \u201916. When she learned during her sophomore year that Hollins had renewed its affiliation with an organization that specializes in traveling to and studying in Cuba, the international studies and economics double major \u201csigned up as soon as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haidari enrolled in Spanish<\/a> classes in anticipation of going to Cuba for spring term of her junior year. But her advisor \u201cencouraged me to go the extra mile and expand my ambitions. She suggested that I do London during fall term. There would be no language barriers and I could take courses that applied to either of my majors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haidari stayed with a host family in London and found it gave her \u201ca firsthand, more organic representation of what it\u2019s like to live there.\u201d She says they provided a sense of community but also respected her independence.<\/p>\n

\"Icons\"Because she is Afghan American, Haidari arrived in Cuba in early February 2015 with a different perspective from that of most U.S. students. \u201cComing from a place that theoretically is also in conflict with the United States, I think I was [more open] to my Cuban experience. Cuban people understand the pernicious relationship the U.S. government has had with the country, but they don\u2019t see the American government and people as one and the same. They\u2019re very welcoming. Having experience with Afghanistan, I understand being critical of American foreign policy, but that\u2019s not a reflection on American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inability of Haidari\u2019s Cuban host family to speak English became an opportunity rather than an obstacle. \u201cIt greatly improved my Spanish. I learned colloquialisms and the ins and outs of the language that I wouldn\u2019t have received from a textbook. I have a greater appreciation for the language. It\u2019s broadened my horizons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following her year abroad, Haidari takes few things for granted. \u201cIt reminds you to be thankful for everything you have. That\u2019s not just in the obvious sense of having amenities that Cubans lack. You understand how fortunate you are to be an English speaker. Even in Europe, everyone\u2019s trying to learn English\u201d because of the strong U.S. economic presence. \u201cTo have such a good command of [English]\u2014that\u2019s privilege.\u201d
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Associate Professor of History Rachel Nu\u00f1ez: \u201cThere\u2019s a new excitement about returning to the classroom\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"RachelWhen preparing for her first sabbatical, Rachel Nu\u00f1ez mapped out \u201ca sustained research agenda\u201d and decided a two-pronged approach would be the best use of her time. \u201cIt\u2019s the standard in my field that you take your dissertation and turn it into your first book, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do. At the same time I\u2019m starting something new, and both projects are continuing alongside one another. It\u2019s really useful not to get stuck inside one project where you get tired and frustrated. It\u2019s nice to have something else you can do for a bit to keep things fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s book project focuses on the ways three prominent 19th<\/sup>-century French feminists thought about imperialism when France was involved in its \u201ccivilizing mission\u201d to bring the benefits of European civilization to Africa and Asia. Her second project grew out of that research. \u201cI found that the women I was researching were also offering some bizarre opinions about the issue of slavery, condemning it on one hand but on the other stating that slaves would never be able to emancipate themselves. I could see this leading to something interesting and complicated, so I knew the research would be productive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Icons\"Two of the three feminists are well known, but Nu\u00f1ez says she is offering a different interpretation of their work. For the third, \u201cNobody has really written on this woman. There isn\u2019t anything out there about her. I\u2019m basically introducing her to French historians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez gave birth to her second child during her sabbatical. Because of travel restrictions during her pregnancy, she was unable to go to France to do research. Fortunately, \u201cThe Internet has just exploded. I\u2019ve done a lot of work through the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, which is the equivalent to our Library of Congress and has digitized a lot of material. Digitization has really changed the research process.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Nu\u00f1ez returned to teaching last fall, she felt a sense of renewal. \u201cI was excited to be in the classroom before, but now there\u2019s a new excitement about returning when you\u2019ve been away from it for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nu\u00f1ez\u2019s experience in the classroom is also informing how she continues her work on her book project. \u201cThe subject I\u2019m writing about may be the same as what my dissertation covered, but the way I\u2019m blending together the materials, the people, the sources is completely different. I\u2019ve rethought the \u2018big picture\u2019 framework, the story I\u2019m trying to tell. I want to go from speaking to a very specialized audience, as I did with my dissertation, to writing a book that is accessible to an informed but more popular audience. Being a teacher plays a big role in that process.\u201d
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Associate Professor of Communication Studies Jill Weber: \u201cThis is Weber 2.0\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"JillOne of Jill Weber\u2019s passions is giving back to society, and during her sabbatical she discovered her volunteer spirit could inform her work as both a teacher and a researcher.<\/p>\n

Weber was on leave during Short Term and spring term 2015 and spent eight months working at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania. \u201cI volunteered as a courier and I used that opportunity to talk with physicians, clinicians, patients, and visitors. I learned so much about organizational structure. It was really an internship for me.\u201d One of the highlights was working closely with a whistleblower who faced disciplinary action despite exposing a violation of workplace policy. \u201cShe was contesting this with her human resources department, and I mentored her on how to respond to the situation. The employee, who originally faced suspension, wound up getting a promotion. The benefit for my students now is that I\u2019m not speaking in the abstract, I\u2019m giving them concrete examples of rhetoric in action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weber\u2019s original plan for her sabbatical research was to prepare a book-length manuscript about the rhetoric of family values in the making of national policy, which drew upon previous work on the subject in her Ph.D. dissertation. But she realized right away that her \u201csabbatical was really an opportunity to think about what my academic life is going to be like now, what I value as a scholar. What do I want to do in the classroom? What do I want my research to look like?<\/p>\n

\"Icons\"\u201cFor me, the most liberating and exciting part of sabbatical was actually scrapping the idea I came in with for revising my dissertation and coming up with an entirely new approach that\u2019s smarter, more interesting, and in my voice. I\u2019m going to write a book I actually want to write. I can use it in my classes and show students how they can use scholarly research and apply it in their daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weber also took the advice of senior colleagues to set aside time \u201cto relax and to wonder and to look out the window and go on walks, and to appreciate creative thinking as well as critical thinking. Having that down time and those \u2018brain breaks\u2019 is important. Now, I\u2019m encouraging my students to do the same. I tell them, \u2018If you\u2019re freaking out about something, put it down, send me an email, and I will give you permission to take a break.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Weber\u2019s interaction with her fellow volunteers at Geisinger gave her insight into her writing and teaching. \u201cI had a great dialogue with them about LGBTQ and political issues. I learned so much from them that not only will help make my book accessible to a wider audience, it has also helped me better understand students with different perspectives from mine. I wouldn\u2019t have made that kind of connection in an insular environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her students have appreciated this evolution into what she calls \u201cWeber 2.0.\u201d \u201cI see my greatest contribution to them as not just instructing them in public speaking and writing, but teaching them confidence, that their voice has worth and value, and to believe in that voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSabbatical allowed me to appreciate the wholeness of me as a scholar and as a person, which in turn has resulted in me appreciating more the wholeness of my students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Hodges is director of public relations.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hollins\u2019 mission statement holds that the university \u201csustains talented students engaged in challenging study, and productive scholars and artists devoted to teaching and the advancement of knowledge.\u201d For decades, study abroad and sabbatical leave programs have enabled students and faculty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-6543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-winter-2016"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6543"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6705,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543\/revisions\/6705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}