Ann Zubrick
I was a graduate student in psychology at the University of Michigan and in my mid twenties when I was assigned to teach a course on Adult Development and Ageing. I knew about adult development, but not much about ageing! It was an excellent learning opportunity, as teaching a subject so often is. Since then I've taught many similar courses and the ageing aspect has become my favourite part.
The career I had for some twenty five years was focused on speech pathology, primarily as a university professor and clinician training students in professional speech pathology practice. I've taught in a wonderful variety of places: Curtin University, University of Michigan, University of Hong Kong and University of Notre Dame Australia and been a visiting professor at universities in China, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.
I continue to do some teaching part-time and supervising PhD students: there is still nothing quite so satisfying to me as watching students' horizons expand. But my time is divided now in a number of directions - or perhaps I should say 'balanced' in a number of directions.
A good deal of my time is spent chairing and sitting on boards-a school, the State Housing Commission and several not-for-profit organisations. 'Gifting' my time in this way, as someone quite experienced in governance and leadership, I nonetheless gain an immense amount from colleagues who have kindly mentored me in this work.
Music is important to me too. I'm an alto member of two choirs, an interest I have reconnected with since leaving a full time job. I most enjoy standing in a space-preferably right next to the men-where I can hear all the vocal lines. Not only must my part be secure, my voice has to blend beautifully with the others around me. It's a most satisfying feeling.
There is a problem in all this, however. When the box on a form asks 'occupation', I find myself puzzling about what to write. In the past I would confidently have chosen either educator, psychologist, speech pathologist and even consultant. Now none of these quite fits.
Although I don't have an occupational label that fits me at this stage of my life, I commit to things that matter to me and that I trust make a difference to others.