Interview
Name: Alicia Eichmann
Degree in progress: MA in Biblical Interpretation, Pre-Doctoral Studies
Areas of interest: Origins of Christianity, Hebrew, Greek, Second Temple Period, Apocalyptic Literature, Synoptic Gospels, Johannine Literature, Cultural and Historical Background of the New Testament in general
College: BA in New Testament (with Old Testament minor) from Oral Roberts University
How did you come to know about the job and why did you want to become a GA?
I moved to Virginia Beach in time to start classes in January 2006 and one of my professors that semester told our class about the opening for Dr. Twelftree’s graduate assistant. I was looking for a job that would be more closely related to my classes than my current job at a daycare. However, I don’t know if I would have applied for the position if one of my professors hadn’t strongly encouraged me to.
Below is part of the email that had gone out about the job:
1. Why do you want the job?
2. What is your GPA?
3. How many hours each and every day from Monday to Friday can you work?
4. How many courses are you taking this and next semester?
5. Do you have a paid job? If so, what hours do you work?
6. Do you have and use BibleWorks, EndNote, Word or WordPerfect?
7. When are you available for an interview?
8. When could you begin work?
Tasks could include photocopying, reading and reviewing books and articles, fulfilling ILL requests, building and annotating bibliographies, proof reading, helping manage courses, and making polite conversation with the professor.
Skills needed or to be developed: ATLA, BlackBoard, EndNote, NTA, PowerPoint, TLG, WorldCat.
Personal requirements: hard working, unswervingly reliable, able to take directions, able to meet deadlines every time, an attention to detail, self motivated and a sense of humor.
Hours: negotiable but include frequent emailing and a weekly 30 minute meeting with the professor late in a day.
Pay: low!
Comments: Although this position will not make you rich or famous you will learn important research skills and habits. You may also learn to speak the Queen's English!
Although I was intimidated by the position and Dr. Twelftree’s apparent high standards, I knew the job would be a good fit for me and would help me to learn more about research as well as all that is involved in being a professor.
What do you do as a GA?
A detailed list is available on the job description page, but in short, I do extensive preliminary research for all of his projects and I help manage his classes.
How is it different from what you expected?
I don’t think I knew exactly what to expect, but the job has exceeded my highest expectations. I knew copying articles and checking out books and managing courses online would be involved. However, I had no idea how much I would learn about the entire process of researching and writing books and articles. With regard to classes, I knew I would get to do the grunt work, but I have alse been able to be involved in the process of reevaluating the courses each year and adjusting them to meet the needs of the students and the program, as it grows and changes.
How many hours do you work and how do you organize your time?
I work 20 hours a week, and I typically come in for roughly 7 hrs each day, 3 days a week. Depending on my class schedule, I may come in for 5 hrs, 4 days a week.
What is the hardest thing you’ve done as a GA?
As time passes, this changes. At one point I would have said using the microfilm machine, but I have finally conquered that obstacle (it helped that the library got a newer machinge since I’ve been at Regent). Now the most frustrating thing I have to do is related to finding primary material from the writers of the early church after the New Testament era. Getting to that primary information is important, but often difficult and tricky. The Loeb library is a life-saver, but Regent does not have all of the volumes, and the others can be hard to track down. It does not help that early church history is outside my own primary area of research, and so I am not as familiar with the material as I am with sources closer to the New Testament. However, seeing how Dr. Twelftree has used these primary sources to shed light on his study of the New Testament has made me realize that I should learn more about how to access them. Nevertheless, they are a pain.
What is/are the best or most rewarding thing(s) you do? What is/are the worst?
The most rewarding things I have done as a GA would be 1) giving Dr. Twelftree feedback on chapters that he’s working on and discussing them with him, 2) discussing student feedback after a residency and determining how to improve the course to make it even better for the students, 3) watching students go through the process of taking a class, and seeing them change and gain new understanding from the experience.
What are you learning from being a GA?
A great many things.
But seriously, I'm amazed at what I've learned in the last two years as Dr. Twelftree's GA. I've learned how to research carefully and thoroughly. I’ve gained a ton of experience going through all the different elements of managing a course, as well as learning how to conceptualize a course and what it is intended to do for the students who take it. I've also gaining experience reading manuscripts and giving an author constructive feedback.
What is the most valuable thing you have gained from the experience?
I think one of the most valuable things I have learned is something I have learned from the person I work for, rather than the job that I do. In watching and interacting with Dr. Twelftree I have learned how to communicate more intentionally, how to empower people, and to value excellence. I have seen modeled how to be diligent with my time, but still to take time for people. I have come to understand that saying no to some things is not just important, but vital to success. I have learned to be flexible, but also to make a plan, to be kind but still to stand firm on deadlines and to continually challenge both myself and others to continue to grow and improve.
What is it not doing for you?
One thing it has not provided is an opportunity to keep up with my Greek and Hebrew. It also has provided very little opportunity to teach in the classroom. However, one of the language professors has allowed me to substitute for him from time to time, so not being able to do this as Dr. Twelftree’s GA has not hindered me from doing it at all. On the contrary, my GA position has allowed me to take advantage of opportunities like these that I would have been less likely to find or fit into my schedule if I worked off campus.
How has being a GA changed since you started?
With regard to my working environment, the main thing that has changed is that the other GAs have changed each year, so each year there is a different group, that works in different locations. The library has rearranged several sections recently and made useful changes such as getting a new microfilm machine. Ultimately, the biggest change for me over the past two years as a GA has been the amount of experience I have as a GA. As I learn more about the library, and research, and managing classes, and working on writing projects, I have changed and thus my experience has changed as well. What I am learning right now is very different from what I was learning two years ago, right after I started.
What skills have been most useful as a GA?
My ability to organize and keep track of lots of details has been indispensable. My familiarity with Dr. Twelftree’s field of study is probably second in incredible usefulness. An interest in research and teaching would be third. It has also helped greatly that I am interested in what he is researching. It makes it enjoyable to help facilitate him being able to research when I am intrigued by that research and curious about what he will determine about the question at hand in the course of each project.
What have you had to learn as a GA, that you might not have learned otherwise?
Much of what I have learned about research I don't think I would have learned otherwise. This job has been such a significant experience that it is hard to consider what would be different without it. I think that not only would I have learned as much about researching and teaching as I have, but I don't think I would be the person that I am today.
What do you think professors should know about being a GA?
I think it'd be good for professors to know that GAs are capable of doing a lot more than they might think. The extent to which a professor can utilize his/her GA and challenge him/her to learn and stretch will greatly affect the kind of experience that the student has. I have found that the ability to take on new tasks and learn new skills has made the experience much more rewarding, making up a little for the low pay, and making me inclined to stay in the position longer. I know this is limited by the number of hours a GA can work, but even if a GA only works 5-15 hours a week, the professor should explore what kinds of tasks their GA is specifically geared toward, as well as what kinds of tasks would stretch them and teach them more about research, professors, and academia in general.