Starting Over in Portland: Expenses
Donation protected
Serene and Ali are moving to Portland!
After five years of moving from town to town on the academic job market, we've decided to start over in a place where I can find long-term, stable work, and where there are possibilities for flourishing in community.
As I transition away from the ever-contracting world of higher ed (not without tears), and with the help of a career counselor, I hope to turn my degree into a satisfying and sustainable career in consulting. Until this gets up and running reliably, I'll be taking on smaller contract work to make ends meet.
We are reaching out to our larger community for help with a few basic moving/work expenses. I had hoped to cover these things with university resources, but am left without a summer contract. We plan to move in mid-
June, and are already building support systems in Portland.
We will have to take unemployment and Medicaid for Serene for a few months and will cover remaining expenses with your help. These include moving expenses for a single U-Haul Ubox, a few months' ACA health insurance for Ali, occasional child care for job interviews and job hunting meet ups, a used computer to replace Ali's work machine, a car tune-up and gas for our cross-country trip, and career counseling to help Ali start a solidand sustainable new career.
This support means the world to us.
I've worked very hard to make ends meet as Serene's sole caregiver and financial support, paying rent and child care expenses for the past five years while working full-time as a traveling Visiting Assistant Professor. This has meant taking on second jobs and maintaining a heavy academic job search throughout my time as contingent faculty at UNC, William and Mary and Virginia Tech. I have worked hard to balance care-giving and professional advancement, and could not have done it without the support of the communities where I have lived with Serene. The support I have gotten has allowed me to put my heart and soul into teaching and writing, but this has not translated into professional security in academe. As we transition to what I hope will be a place we can put down roots, we are putting the stress of this particular precarity behind us and really looking forward our new chapter.
We don't have a financial safety net and are grateful for any funds we can raise to help defray the costs of moving cross-country. It would be impossible for us
without financial help. Knowing how many of our friends and family are struggling, we understand if you can't help. For those who can, I am confident that, within a year, we will be in a much more solid position, moving forward, and in a position to help others. We are so grateful that you would consider helping us with this big transition!
After five years of moving from town to town on the academic job market, we've decided to start over in a place where I can find long-term, stable work, and where there are possibilities for flourishing in community.
As I transition away from the ever-contracting world of higher ed (not without tears), and with the help of a career counselor, I hope to turn my degree into a satisfying and sustainable career in consulting. Until this gets up and running reliably, I'll be taking on smaller contract work to make ends meet.
We are reaching out to our larger community for help with a few basic moving/work expenses. I had hoped to cover these things with university resources, but am left without a summer contract. We plan to move in mid-
June, and are already building support systems in Portland.
We will have to take unemployment and Medicaid for Serene for a few months and will cover remaining expenses with your help. These include moving expenses for a single U-Haul Ubox, a few months' ACA health insurance for Ali, occasional child care for job interviews and job hunting meet ups, a used computer to replace Ali's work machine, a car tune-up and gas for our cross-country trip, and career counseling to help Ali start a solidand sustainable new career.
This support means the world to us.
I've worked very hard to make ends meet as Serene's sole caregiver and financial support, paying rent and child care expenses for the past five years while working full-time as a traveling Visiting Assistant Professor. This has meant taking on second jobs and maintaining a heavy academic job search throughout my time as contingent faculty at UNC, William and Mary and Virginia Tech. I have worked hard to balance care-giving and professional advancement, and could not have done it without the support of the communities where I have lived with Serene. The support I have gotten has allowed me to put my heart and soul into teaching and writing, but this has not translated into professional security in academe. As we transition to what I hope will be a place we can put down roots, we are putting the stress of this particular precarity behind us and really looking forward our new chapter.
We don't have a financial safety net and are grateful for any funds we can raise to help defray the costs of moving cross-country. It would be impossible for us
without financial help. Knowing how many of our friends and family are struggling, we understand if you can't help. For those who can, I am confident that, within a year, we will be in a much more solid position, moving forward, and in a position to help others. We are so grateful that you would consider helping us with this big transition!
Organizer
Alison C.
Organizer
Blacksburg, VA