By Julia Bogdan
The newest hire in Longwood Communication studies, Dr. Isabel Fay, originally applied for a teaching position because she was looking for job stability and a place to establish herself in.
“After getting to know the [Farmville] community, I’ve been able to see myself here in the long run,” Fay said.
Longwood University is important to Dr. Fay because it allows her to accomplish the dreams and goals she’s always had for herself.
“I’m really passionate about giving back, as a professor, what I received as a student,” Fay stated.
“A lot of Longwood students come from economically disadvantaged households, and being able to insure their success and fulfillment, [by helping them] live up to their potential, [and being the] educator who allows students to reflect on their environment and society are some of the many reasons why I wanted to be a professor,” Fay said.
While realizing her dream of being a professor and mentoring students, Fay says she can feel at home in Farmville after a life of continuously moving around.
“It felt like a good fit for me,” Fay said.
Fay was originally born in Berlin, Germany, with a mother of Mexican heritage and father of German heritage. While growing up in Germany, Fay and her family would visit Mexico for about a month every year.
“I grew up between those two worlds,” Fay said.
She originally came to the states at 16 years old for an exchange student program and has been living in America ever since.
“[Being from two different heritages] has allowed me to take a broader perspective on things that many of us are unable to see,” Fay said. “How we communicate in one part of the world is not how we communicate in other parts of the world. It has allowed me to be a more analytical person and to essentially shift culture codes and I often see myself as the moderator [between cultures].”
Fay wrote her dissertation on digital media, but is a rhetorician at heart. She is interested in learning how communities develop a public consciousness, the sort of patterns people use, and different movements like #MeToo on Twitter.
“Rhetoric courses passionately insert with any subject area,” Fay said.
Since Fay has seen many different cultures, she is very excited about communication across societies, including social media use.
Make sure to stop by and congratulate Dr. Fay on her new position!