Life after Bellamy: Insights from Chelsi Arellano (Ph.D. 2024)

In April 2024, I had consigned myself to taking another school year to finishing my Ph.D. and hopefully finding my dream job as a professor. I submitted my last few applications in March and although I had a few first round interviews, it seemed as though the academic job market wasn’t going to work out that cycle. I had been prepared for this. At Florida State, every professor had been very forthcoming from the beginning: if you want to get a job in academia, you will have to work extremely hard just to make that dream a remote possibility. The History department provided not only grading assistantships, but also valuable professional development. I enrolled in a course on academic writing with the late Dr. Wood, and another on teaching college history with Dr. Sinke. These courses helped shape my approach to both research and teaching. While applying for jobs, I also gained hands-on teaching experience with Historian’s Craft and Modern World History from 1815.

At the same time, I was working on my dissertation, examining gender, race, and identity in the British Empire during the 17th century. By April 2024, I had written half of it, but my progress had slowed not only because I was teaching and applying for jobs, but also because each rejection left me feeling increasingly dejected. As the hiring season wore down, I put in one last application at Broward College, which almost immediately offered me an interview. After my initial interview, I was asked to give a teaching presentation, then a third interview. 

In May 2024, I was offered a position as assistant professor of History at Broward College, set to begin in August. Where it had previously felt like life was in limbo, things suddenly accelerated. I moved across the state—temporarily leaving behind my fiancé and three of our cats—while working to complete my dissertation as quickly as possible.

At Broward College I am contracted to teach a minimum of five courses each semester, although in my first year I taught six courses in the fall and seven in the spring. This was a major adjustment from teaching one course per semester as a graduate student at FSU, but I certainly felt more prepared having been given the opportunity to work out my style of teaching in a more controlled environment. The first semester at Broward College was a steep learning curve, as I wrote the final chapters of my dissertation while juggling 150 students across the six classes I taught. When I officially graduated from FSU in December 2024, I was already thinking about the changes I would make to my courses for the spring semester.

As a junior college, Broward primarily serves students fulfilling general education requirements. Most of my classes are capped at around 30 students, and I teach four days a week, reserving Fridays for lecture prep and service work. Faculty are required to complete 12 hours of professional development per year, which can include research, publishing, conferences, or internal training. I wasn’t left to navigate everything on my own either; during my first year, I participated in the New Faculty Institute, which helped orient me to the college’s systems and culture.

Reflecting back on the last year, the support I received from FSU was invaluable. Not only did my committee stand by me, but professors, staff, and peers across the department offered constant encouragement. I had achieved my dream career and remained in the state where I grew up. Every day feels like a dream that would not have been possible without the people at FSU who believed in me, challenged me, and guided me through every step of the journey.