Roberta Chinn
Class of 1894
My career had evolved in a series of phases, during which I engaged in an ongoing
self assessment of my core skills and competencies learned in graduate school. I’ve
been fortunate to have had phenomenal experiences in teaching, research and applied
settings over past 30 years. Not the most direct route from graduate school to career,
but here goes!
Beginnings
Yay! I was finally accepted to a doctoral program of my choice. I arrived at the Baton
Rouge airport at 8 am, August 18, 1979, following a red eye flight from San Francisco.
I was greeted by high humidity, the likes of which I had never experienced before.
No ocean breeze here because I was 80 miles inland.
There were no direct flights from Sacramento so my parents had to drive to the San Francisco airport the night before. This was my first flight (ever!) on an airplane and felt like I was leaving home forever. My father thought I should wait to be accepted into a California university, but I knew that a doctorate degree was an intense undertaking during a critical period in my life. I was intent on pursuing my doctorate even if it meant going out of state.My mother was my biggest fan, and I missed her terribly after she passed in the spring of 1980.
I had applied to several doctoral programs when I was a senior at the University of California Davis, but was not accepted to one that I wanted. So I obtained a Masters’ degree from the University of the Pacific (Stockton, California) prior to my arrival at LSU.I had shipped my books and belongings by U. S. mail to the Department office in sturdy cardboard boxes used to ship wine or liquor. I’m sure the staff at the shipping dock was wondering who was coming. Then, the beginning of a grand adventure. I moved into an apartment with no furniture of my own, lived out of suitcases and slept on a borrowed cot for a couple of months until I could locate a used bed and desk. I eventually bought a small chest of drawers and a plastic etagere from TG&Y near campus.
Click HERE to read more about Roberta Chinn.
There were no direct flights from Sacramento so my parents had to drive to the San Francisco airport the night before. This was my first flight (ever!) on an airplane and felt like I was leaving home forever. My father thought I should wait to be accepted into a California university, but I knew that a doctorate degree was an intense undertaking during a critical period in my life. I was intent on pursuing my doctorate even if it meant going out of state.My mother was my biggest fan, and I missed her terribly after she passed in the spring of 1980.
I had applied to several doctoral programs when I was a senior at the University of California Davis, but was not accepted to one that I wanted. So I obtained a Masters’ degree from the University of the Pacific (Stockton, California) prior to my arrival at LSU.I had shipped my books and belongings by U. S. mail to the Department office in sturdy cardboard boxes used to ship wine or liquor. I’m sure the staff at the shipping dock was wondering who was coming. Then, the beginning of a grand adventure. I moved into an apartment with no furniture of my own, lived out of suitcases and slept on a borrowed cot for a couple of months until I could locate a used bed and desk. I eventually bought a small chest of drawers and a plastic etagere from TG&Y near campus.
Click HERE to read more about Roberta Chinn.