Author Archives: azperry

1.21.26 Starting the spring semester off with a bang with some unexpected views of the Aurora borealis (Northern lights) between Monday and Tuesday evening – what a show! The beauty of nature has kept me grounded and reminds me to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the little things along the way. 2026 isContinue reading “And so Spring 2026 begins”

8.20.25 Happy Fall 2025! Can’t believe I’m already finished with my first year of teaching. I had a very successful spring course of ASOC 310 (Social Research Methods), and my students were phenomenal – the energy and enthusiasm in that class is unlikely to be matched for several years. While I am sad to sayContinue reading “Start of Year 5”

12.10.24 While grades aren’t *technically* due until next Thursday, December 19th, our last lecture was last Thursday, and students have a final reflection paper due on Friday. This semester has been filled with trials and tribulations of being a new instructor, and despite the challenges, I walk away from the semester with my head heldContinue reading “And that’s a wrap – Fall 2024”

8.28.24 Well, I guess it’s about time for the annual blog post on here. The past year has been extraordinarily quiet in many regards, but nevertheless, I reached some important milestones: I completed my second comprehensive exam (with the distinction of “High Pass” that I didn’t know existed…), co-taught with a professor, and prepped forContinue reading “Year 4 – The trials and tribulations of teaching”

Above: Summit of Rocky Ridge Mt, Adirondacks 9.13.23 It’s that time of year again, another semester starting back up. Hard to believe this is already my 3rd year of the PhD program, and I’ll soon be done with classes and receiving a class of my own to teach. I was inspired to write an academicContinue reading “Hello, Third Year.”

10.14.22 Wow. Hard to believe that the semester is already halfway over. They say that time goes by faster as you get older, but it’s really been flying this semester. Not sure if it’s because I’m particularly busy, but the days seem long and the weeks seem short. This semester has turned out to beContinue reading “Fall, Year 2: Relearning success and failure”

8.24.22 As I sit here typing this, I remark on everything that I’ve done this past year: taken six classes, served as a Graduate Assistant for four different professors, attended and presented at 2 conferences, maintained a respectable GPA, attended summer camp, and most of all, found a sense of belonging in academia. Coming backContinue reading “Year 2, Here we go…”

And just like that, my work has hit a standstill. All of the blood, sweat and tears that I’ve cried in advocating for transgender athletes has vanished in the matter of days. The NCAA announced several days ago that they have changed their transgender inclusion policy, what critics argue is largely in response to theContinue reading “Transgender rights: One step forward, three steps back.”

1.16.22 And just like that, there is only one week left of winter break (technically we were supposed to return to campus this week, but that was pushed back due to covid). I’ve managed to keep busy this break, accomplishing almost all that I wanted to academically in terms of organizing myself, applying to scholarships,Continue reading “Soaking up the last of winter break.”

11.28.21 Can’t believe that it’s the last week of classes already! Seems like just a week or two ago this semester was starting. This week is our last full week of classes, we have one more Monday class next week on 12/6, and then finals begin Weds 12/8. Finals season is always quite hectic, althoughContinue reading “Home Stretchhhh…”