When did you graduate from UPS?
Dec. 1982
What have you been doing since graduation?
Working (from retail to banking to teacher in the U.S. and East Asia) to (at present) a college professor in political science); travelling (pretty much around the world for vacation, study, and research); and graduate study (U.S., Western Europe, then East Asia, mainly China, especially South China).
Why and how did you decide to take the career path you did?
For my first MA, I studied International Policy Studies at Monterey Institute for International Studies (with an emphasis on France and Germany). It was supposed to be a terminal degree leading to the Foreign Service. Upon graduation, and being completely burned out on W. Europe and academics, I went on a teacher exchange program to teach English as a Second Language in South West China (Yunnan Province). It was an amazing experience that opened my eyes and changed the direction of my professional life (other aspects of my life as well).
I came back to the US and entered a PhD program in political science, but with my specialty as China/East Asia. I learned Mandarin, Cantonese, and am now studying Japanese and a bit of Korean. My primary research area emerged during fieldwork for the PhD in Hong Kong and South China. I started out with an interest in pop culture and economic development, and turned that around to women and gender studies in East Asia. So, I guess you could say that many twists and turns (both geographically and philosophically) lead me to my current career (assistant professor of political science).
Are there any aspects of the Politics and Government major or your UPS education in general that have served you particularly well?
An abiding interest in politics, diversity and cultures as brought me to where I am in my professional life (that has been the one constant in my meandering path to being a professor). Also, would have to say that the language training I received at UPS made me realize my abiding interest in learning languages as well.
Do you have any advice about what our students should make certain they do (or don't do!) while still in school?
As someone who took awhile to get where I am, I'd say don't enter graduate school for a PhD unless you are really sure of what you want to do. Master's degree programs can be managed if one is unsure, but the pressure to finish soon in a PhD is heavy. Finally, networking is one of the best ways to get a job related to a BA in Poli Sci. If you don't know how to do it, ask someone and learn!
Do you have any advice about what our students should be thinking about as they consider their careers or further education?
Best way to find out if you want to be in Washington DC is an internship while you are still an undergraduate. Best way to find out if you want to go to graduate school is to go and visit the schools to which you will apply and talk to both professors and graduate students. Find out where UPS grads are and if they can be of help in getting you connected to the field you think you want to be in.
You can see my interests in East Asia at the campus webpage: http://home.moravian.edu/public/polsci/fischler.htm
