After a few years of part-time teaching and other independent projects, this week I started a full-time professorship. It’s Friday and I made it through the first week! I actually feel pretty on top of things right now, but of course I have no grading yet. I’m very excited to be teaching one of the first-year seminar courses, and I have a great group of 10 students, all of whom seem to be adjusting very well to college so far and also clicking as a group. I tried something new this week with my drawing class, which is always a mix of first-years to seniors, art majors and those just meeting a general ed requirement. We did some activities as a class on the challenge course and it was a great experience. It for sure helped us to get to know each other a bit more, and my hope is that it will help students’ comfort levels when it comes to sharing ideas (praises and constructive criticism) in our group critiques that start next week. And my third class is an intro to design course, one that’s brand-new to me and to the school. It will be a hybrid of sorts, a mix of critical thinking, writing, and discussion about the roles of design and designers in contemporary culture, as well as some hands-on learning of the Adobe CS6 programs. In other expanded roles, I’ve taken over scheduling for the college gallery and our first exhibition opens next week. I’ve also embarked on the lead editor position for the Mennonite Life journal, which is housed at our school, and I’m glad to be working with colleagues from a variety of disciplines on that board. It looks to be an exciting year!