How did I find myself in the field of recruiting? It wasn’t necessarily a straight path for me. As a matter of fact, my journey was a bit off the beaten path – requiring me to overcome a variety of obstacles along the way…
In college I read my first Heidegger and my first Foucault and my first Audre Lorde. It was the first time I had heard of any of them. This was in the mid 80’s and yes I know I am old, but you kids can stay on my lawn – I mostly like you.
Heidegger, Foucault and Lorde would be a lot for any young mind to chew on, swallow and digest, but it about put me under. College was especially bumpy for me because it wasn’t just classes for me – I was learning how to be. Eventually, I found myself smack dab in the middle of an academic turf war between philosophy, religion, feminist theory, and Midwestern closed-mindedness. It didn’t help that during this tempestuous time I fell in love with a woman. My “Coming Out Experience” included a very special meeting with the dean, where he wanted to confirm rumors that I was a lesbian. He didn’t appreciate my theories on sexual identity as construction and it was neither a helpful, nor particularly civil, conversation. A state school in MO was not very welcoming to a queer kid that was admittedly a bit strange. I lost my mind for awhile, spectacularly failed many classes, and eventually left the school. A waste. I had a full-ride scholarship, and then I had nothing. (Click here to continue reading and see how I made the shift into recruiting).
