The Beginning of the AdjunctArtist

I’ve thought about naming this blog AdjunctArtist (idk if that will stick. I'm open to naming ideas!) Not only because right now, that’s what I do professionally, but also because it was the source of the turmoil that spurred me to start this blog. I’m hoping some people can relate, and maybe I can also help some young educators walk this same journey and find the incredibly important value in what they do. That’s certainly not all this blog will be about, but it seemed like a good place to start.  

A note before we get going: I am now in a place where I looooove everything I do. I love my students, my coworkers, and I have learned so many important lessons about what I do. This is less about commiserating, and more about finding joy when things don’t go exactly according to plan, and how everyone can do this with the right attitude. Most importantly, it’s about understanding that education and the arts is not a hierarchy, but a team effort. From elementary school all the way to DMA, music education is of the highest importance, and everyone has an essential part to play.

Now, on to the story.

A little about me: My name is Vivienne; I got my DMA (percussion performance) from a fairly big, well-known music program. I did all the “right” things. I pushed my hands to the limits, I buried myself in research, I went to a national conference to present my findings, wrote a dissertation, and even formed a chamber group and went on tour before I graduated in May 2024. I graduated feeling on top of the world.

It was surprising to me, then, when I had felt like I had done everything right, to end up without a full-time collegiate job. Shortly after graduating, I moved to California to be with my husband (who had graduated from the same DMA program I did, and we did long-distance for two years while I finished), riding on the hope that I would crash land in Sacramento and get everything I thought my degree had promised me.

What actually happened: There were no open collegiate jobs. I started my career off with a high school band tech-ing job, teaching one student at a community college program, and substitute teaching. (I plan to talk about all of these adventures and what I learned in future posts).

In my inexperienced brain, honestly, the substitute teaching thing really hurt, especially when people asked me about it. I just didn’t know how to explain to the people who had followed my journey through school that after getting a doctorate in literally anything, I had somehow ended up as a substitute teacher.

What hurt even more was that on social media (as social media does), that it seemed like every other day, my friends had all gone and done what I had failed at: getting the job I wanted. Every other day, a picture about someone’s new office or promotion to tenure started to eat away at my self-esteem because I couldn’t decipher what exactly life had in store for me when I had done all of the “right things”. I started to enter a mental phase where I was mortified to talk in conversation with anyone about my career, and even my husband, who is an incredible educator and currently works as a lecturer at a local state university, didn’t know how to talk to me about it for fear of crushing my esteem.

Fast-forward to nearly 2 years later so future Vivienne can talk to her past self and everyone else: there is no right way to do this. Everybody’s journey looks different, and is made for them and no one else. I was so consumed with the one thing I thought I needed to validate myself, I had missed all the gifts that were brought into my life. I am now a percussion coach at two high schools, a community-college applied professor, a front-ensemble technician, a full-time performing artist that travels across the country with my duo-partner/husband, and president for the California Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. I think I live an amazing life with plenty of blessings and opportunities, and that gaping hole that I thought I needed to fill with a specific job right out of doctoral school has shrunk considerably.

After I had my initial meltdown and I actually applied myself to my various musical opportunities, I realized that every day that went by was priceless training for the full-time professorship I hope to attain someday. Moreover, if I do get a full-time job, I’m hoping that I can balance it with what I already have because I have learned to love it that much. I have met some of the most incredible, inspiring educators that have taught me about life and humbled me in ways that were entirely unexpected. I look forward to sharing those adventures and anecdotes in the coming months.

In essence, what I’m hoping to cover in this blog will span from deconstructing my journey out of doctoral school into the real world to talking about how to establish a successful chamber group, tour stories, teaching strategies, and everything in between. BUT--- If you are here and you are where I was two years ago, fresh out of college and feeling like you're drowning, it's okay. We'll do this together. And it's less about winning the race, and more about learning to swim in the way that's best for you. <3