-->First of all, I don't think I will ever get used to being called Dr. Hawley. It's still so surreal to me. This is probably a good thing. I pray that it stays this way for decades.
-->I'm still shocked that my classroom cap is set at 30 students per course. I can actually have conversations with my students, know their goals, and call them by name! At my previous job, the cap on my courses was set at 300 students. There was no way I could remember my students' names. I was lucky if I remembered 50%! Now I can say that I know ALL 120 of my students names...without a cheat sheet :-)
-->I cannot even begin to describe the encouraging work environment here. Everyone (and I'm not exaggerating...everyone) is so kind, patient, and helpful. This is such a blessing for a new person with a million questions!
-->Advising. To be honest I thought I was going to hate this part of my new faculty position. I thought it would just be another thing I had to to, but I thoroughly enjoy getting to know students and helping them plan their college career in preparation for the "real world". It's a completely different aspect of academia that is so rewarding. I'm sure once I have my first set of students graduate I will be beaming with pride.
-->On the second week of school I had a student come to my office and thank me for making the topic of neuroscience interesting and exciting. The student thanked me for being passionate about my subject, making the course work relevant, and engaging in students. This made me smile for like a week! It really affirmed my decision to go into the field and work with college students. What an honor to teach these students!
-->I've had more students come to my office to ask questions or visit in the past month than I had the entire 5 years I was at my previous institution. The caliber of students here is exceptional; a complete 180 from what I was used to. It is so refreshing to teach students who truly desire to grow and want to learn. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash all of the students I taught before, but what I am saying is that the ease with which to teach here is so pleasant, compared to the teeth pulling I was doing on a daily basis. On the second day of school, students had actually done the reading before class and had prepared questions for discussion! I swear my jaw dropped when this happened! Not one time did this happen at my previous position. Not one!
-->While I am loving my new job, I am exhausted! Like suppppppeeeer tired! I get up between 4:30am and 5:00am, get to work by 7:00am, work until 7:00pm, come home and work until at least 1:30am, and do it again (everyday but Sunday). I can never remember what day it is or where I'm supposed to be. If I didn't have a planner I would be lost. I kid you not! Over the past 5 years I've grown used to being tired, but this is a different kind of tired. This is a good and happy tired. Does that make sense? I love what I do, and I love working late, and I love being tired for this field of mission I've been called.
--> Many of you have asked for updates on my new office. (In case you're new around here at LWTH I posted some before pictures here.) Well about mid-way through August my department was moved to a different school within the University, which means I will be moving my office again in December. I'm actually pretty ok with this move. I will be going to a brand new building and it will be much quieter than the one I'm in now. It’s also the same building where most of my classes are, so it will be very convenient. So I decided not to get too cozy where I am now and to just make-do with it for this semester. Here are pictures from my "making do for 3 months" office.
Here are some of the before pictures from when I first moved onto campus. (here are the rest)
Here I am “making do” for 3 months until the next move.
I gotta have lots of books! What teacher doesn’t?!
Anyone recognize this painting?
I've got to say that I'm truly happy where I am. I could not have imagined this feeling of joy last year, or even 6 months ago for that matter. It's such a blessing to be working at a place that encourages you, wants to see its faculty succeed, and values relationships. I can tell that this place is so, SO, good for me! 
