Eileen Hammond, one of our new Communication instructors, was born in Maryland. To keep up with her mother’s career, she was raised not only in Maryland, but in Virginia, Georgia, and Florida. While living in Florida, she attended Palm Beach Community College, and then Florida Atlantic University to complete her BA in Communication Studies. It was at Florida Atlantic that she studied with her favorite teacher, David Cratis Williams. “I loved his classes because he was a captivating storyteller; he shared some of his own background as the descendant of ‘hillbillies and moonshiners,’ and sparked my interest in Appalachian history. He was a bit of a luddite, but he was a talented lecturer. His assignments were challenging, and I enjoyed the opportunity to do real research as an undergraduate in his classes. “

In 2014 she moved from Florida to North Carolina to start a PhD in Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Along the way she completed her Masters in 2015. “After 5 years of studying, I became ABD in 2019, and decided to leave the PhD program shortly thereafter. Doctoral work isn't for everyone!”

She continues, “I initially chose Communication Studies because it was one of the few majors where I could transfer in all my community college credits, and it did not require me to take any additional math classes. I kept studying in my discipline because I didn't know any better! Kidding aside, it is pretty sweet that most students already have an interest in communicating better and see the value in taking Communication classes.”

Her love of students and teaching brought her to Davidson-Davie. “As a former community college student myself, I have so much respect for our students and I think they deserve to have instructors who really care about teaching and learning. I loved teaching in grad school, and it was my hope for a future career in teaching that helped me hang on so long in my PhD program, and helped me manage working full-time jobs and adjuncting on the side for the past couple years. I couldn't believe my luck when this position opened up!”

Eileen enjoys spending time with her four cats (Luca, Merlin, Saffron, and Posh), and her four chickens (Zion, Bryce, Henrietta and Robinette). She also “…[likes] to go hiking around NC and swimming in the Eno River, near where I live in Durham. I also love to take road trips in my camper van, Topaz. You can follow Topaz on Instagram @topaz2041. This semester, I'm taking a woodworking class at Durham Tech on Tuesday nights, and I'm planning to make a kitchen cabinet in the style of an old pie safe. When I travel, I like to have a theme. This year, I'm on a National Parks theme. Past themes have included beer, art museums, ancient ruins, and baklava (that was a great one).”

She finds it difficult to name just one book (“there have been so many”) that has had a significant impact on her thinking, but Eileen settles on Brenѐ Brown’s Daring Greatly (2012). “I love the way Brown does her research (as a qualitative research person myself), and I admire the way she translates her research into useful fodder for non-academics. This book, in particular, is about the need to be vulnerable in order to achieve great things, which is a hard but worthwhile lesson to learn.”

She concludes, “I'm grateful to be here with all of you, and I'm really enjoying the Davie campus community.”

Please save the date of November 4th from 3 - 4 PM (Zoom link) for a powerful session from international speaker Archie Messersmith-Bunting called "It's OK for Faculty to not be OK." This program allows faculty to assess their own mental health and identify ways they can improve their daily self-care plan. Attendees learn to identify signs their friend, family member or colleagues may be struggling. Participants discover action steps to encourage help-seeking behaviors while avoiding the less-than-helpful things often said to those struggling with issues related to mental health.