Dorothy R. Santos, Ph.D.

When I was pursuing my master’s degree, I was told by my thesis director that I’m a better orator than I am a writer.

You can imagine the statement not only stung, but it made me wonder about my future as a writer and educator. I thought, “How could I teach people a craft that I couldn’t do well? Or worse, didn’t have the expertise and experience to guide and mentor students.” While I graduated from that program and went on to pursue a Ph.D. (that’s a story for another day), I did not let that reflection deter me. You can only become great at a craft through practice and not being precious about what you produce. Trying to convince my students that the “first draft” of anything is exactly that! Don’t hang onto it for too long because your thinking will evolve…if you’re really lucky, you will be transformed because the work with rearrange your mind and practice.

Another thing that has been on my mind is “success.” Whether it’s landing your “dream” job (no such thing) or landing a book deal, I wish success wasn’t the boundary that people were working from. I know it’s saccharine and privileged for me to say that success isn’t about money. People need to eat, pay rent, and give care to loved ones and I understand what comes with responsibility. Yet, why can’t getting through the day be a success? How about reaching out to a friend that you haven’t spoken to in a long time? Or, how about trying something new? As a friend and colleague reminded me in a conversation, being in academia is highly evaluative. Yes, every job has some kind of review for performance. But in academia, you are constantly having to write, research, and/or make something to prove you are worthy of reappointment, a merit increase, and/or a promotion (tenure!). Being an academic in the Arts is a constant struggle and tension with “Sure, I did this and that, but is this good enough to get me to next year?” How do I stay hopeful and optimistic with and for my students? I do it, but some days, it’s a struggle with everything happening in the world.

Do I practice what I teach? I try.

With my second official year as full time faculty member, I’m realizing I need to have a consistent form of a digital presence. Back in January 2022, as I was writing my dissertation, my Instagram account got hacked. I took the incident as a sign to stay off social media until I’m done writing (the writing never ends!). It’s now 2026 and I am making a slow and gradual return. I decided to get back into posting to my website after being relatively inactive (and horrible about updating it). Inspired by artist Darius Kazemi’s (sat on a panel with him years ago for Theorizing the Web) Run Your Own Social and Erin Kissane’s studio practice, I want to do things my way on the internet as opposed to contributing to larger digital platforms and ecosystems. I want to return to my little corner of the internet where folks might stick around for awhile and learn something new. I’ve been working on something super special (for myself and much needed upgrade to my life) with an incredible and extraordinary team (including my partner and collaborator, Abram Stern, Ph.D.). More soon! Until then…