I became a research administrator when I realized that I needed to reinvent myself. I had been a college administrator for more than 20 years and needed a change, but I wanted to stay in higher education. I had been a part of several successful grant efforts in those 20 years and thought that might be the way to go. I sent out 5 applications and received interview requests for all of them. The old saying “Third time’s the charm” was certainly the case here. I got the job and have loved being a part of a VERY active department ever since. It is great to be a part of a proposal team and I have had the opportunity to work with faculty, scientists, and research administrators across the U.S. and in several countries. It has been great to get to know some of them better as we have worked on multiple proposals together. Being a research administrator has been the perfect position for me and, when I eventually decide to retire, it will be from this job.
