Published on 13 July 2013
Just now I sent my resignation email to the Linguistics Association of Great Britain Student Committee. I’ve been a member of the LAGBSC for something like three years, since I was a student in Edinburgh studying Linguistics, bright eyed and working on a thesis on evolutionary linguistics. I’ve come a long way since those conversations with the then president Penny, from talking to David Arnold over tea and coffee about what the LAGB could be to students, and what we could do for academia. One of the outcomes of these conversations was, of course, the Undergraduate Linguistics Association of Britain, an organisation me and David Arnold founded for students in Britain to present work of theirs and connect to other Linguistics undergrads. ULAB recently had it’s third annual conference, and seems to be going strong, for which I am immensely proud. Part of that was success came from help from the LAGBSC and the LAGB itself, who offered advice and occasionally conference funds. They helped fly me to Bristol to see the second conference.
Recently, the LAGBSC for me meant simply signing off on emails. I’ve been living outside of Britain for two years now, and I am not necessarily continueing on in academia at the moment, as I am pursueing a career in web development. As such, I’ve felt increasingly like I was filling a position that someone else could fill better. I hope that someone does, and I look forward to seeing how the LAGB continues to thrive and how the LAGBSC continues to cater to student needs.
On that note, I’m trying to get more involved in the LSA COSIAC - Linguistics Society of America Committee on Student Issues and Concerns. So, it looks like I’m just finally accepting that I am, at last, American. Academia is very much a Hotel California, that way - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave…
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