I joined Evergreen this quarter, divebombing into the Unruly Bodies cohort. I came to Evergreen because I had become unruly… Unruly means 'disorderly, disruptive, and resistant to discipline or control.' Despite appearing to be ordered and achieving a decent career as a Software Engineer and Technical Teacher, I had gotten stuck. And in being stuck I began to feel indignant and afraid.
Too much adrenaline and excitement can burn a person out. Once you've gotten to a point of no return on the crispy horizon, there's no amount of good will that will prevent burnout from making you toxic. And for a clever child like me, the burnout could be masked, but not controlled. I began losing my sense of judgment, my patience, and my professional demeanor.
And then my health got worse, and I lost the thread for a while. I came into Evergreen with 7 years of tech industry experience, but I also came in angry, confused, and prone to panic. In the weeks I have been here, my health has turned a corner.
My education, before today, has included an English degree (creative writing); a certificate in ruby from UW; attending dozens of technical conferences, teaching folx to code in a bootcamp setting, and the lived experience of working at four other startups in varying stages of growth, and finally, working at Microsoft.
Each of my workplaces has deeply challenged me. But the challenges I faced at Microsoft seemed intractable and insurmountable, because they were primarily challenges of culture and influence. I'm a decent coder and a skilled communicator, but the level of strategic political thought necessary to exert influence within their system is beyond my capabilities with my tool kit today. In my technical career, I've learned to work without (outside of) systems. At Evergreen, I hope to learn to work within systems.
I am interested in interconnectedness and emergence. How do complex systems behave? and…
- What modes of analysis and tools are most useful for understanding complex socio-technical systems?
- How can we build healthier practices, communities, and technical systems?
- How do we increase ethical thinking and acting within the Tech Industry?
- How do we encourage more participatory ways of working and democratic methods of ownership in our professional lives?
- How can learning communities be fostered to grow processes, practices, and people?
- How do we create more inclusive paths for diverse candidates to have high-impact careers?
- How do you work within large systems to improve outcomes for minoritized peoples?
The only way I can answer questions like these is in community.
The only way I can succeed at Evergreen is in community with my fellow students.
I want my degree to be called Autonomous & Coöperative Leadership. My education will blend community studies, sustainability studies, and leadership studies while focusing on the disciplines of business and management, communication, computer science, and sociology.
Over the next year, I am most interested in the following courses…
- Trauma and Repair (4 credits)
- Lifespan Development Psychology (4 credits)
- ILC — npm ethnography
- Internship — Partnership for AI
- Group Dynamics (8 credits)
- Thinking Clearly in Difficult Times (8 credits)
- Why Businesses Suceed (8-12 credits)
- Creating and Developing Social Enterprises for Community Development
- Doing Good and Doing Well (8 credits)
- Computers and Cognition (8 credits)