Assistant Professor of United States and Public History at the University of Illinois Springfield, where I answer emails all day, attend meetings, complete mandatory online training sessions, and complain about administration. In my spare time, I teach undergrad classes in 20th-century US history and graduate classes in public history. I'm working on a book proposal based on my dissertation. I'm involved in several public history projects in various stages of development, from a National Register of Historic Places nomination of a 19th-century farm, to establishing a coordinating committee for local events surrounding the 2018 Illinois bicentennial, to co-chairing a working group that focuses on how the "Black Lives Matter" movement has influenced the way we look at race riots and racialized mass violence of the past.
I don't know what the "American Dream" entails. I like my job. The prospect of tenure keeps me from crying every night about the salary and the probability of my pension being slashed.
I would like to start a hipster taqueria in downtown Springfield. Shaggy, tattooed staff in the front blasting obscure 70s rock; hardcore cocineros cranking out the food. No fancified Bayless-style Mexican food, but authentic stuff like tamales, street tacos, and goat and beef barbacoa. Extensive craft beer list and event collaborations with central Illinois breweries.
