Social Network Interview #2

For the second interview, we have Dr. Clayton Thyne. He is Assoc. Professor & Assoc. chair director of graduate studies and peace studies at the University of Kentucky. I am his student at a peace studies class at the University of Kentucky. In this interview he talks about his life and goals, and gives advice to those who want a career in political science.

Interiew:

Adriana: How would you describe yourself?

Dr. Thyne: Hard question to answer here. I guess first I’m a husband and a father. Those two things take up the majority of my time and energy and they’re what I enjoy most in life. Beyond that, being a professor largely defines me. I enjoy teaching, research and service, so this is pretty much the perfect place for me to be. In terms of personality traits, being a hard worker is the biggest thing. I did well as an elementary teacher, a construction work, and am doing well now as a professor largely due to hard work. Beyond that, I’m mostly still a kid at heart. I don’t take anything too seriously, rarely get upset or angry, and try to pay attention to the little things in life that I find enjoyable. In terms of things I like to do, that would be pretty much anything outside. I love the water and like to canoe, sail and water ski. I also like jogging, camping, hiking…whatever gets me away from the computer.

Adriana: What goals did you have when you were younger? And what goals do you have now?

Dr. Thyne: I basically wanted to rule the world when I was younger. I figured the best way to do that would be to make a ton of money being a corporate lawyer and then using that money to buy my way into politics. As an undergraduate, I learned what lawyers do for a living and I developed a set of morals. So, that pretty much eliminated being a lawyer as a profession. I also learned that I love research and college, so being a professor was a natural fit. In terms of goals, I’ve met most of my professional goals. There’s always room to move up, but I’m pretty happy where I’m at. I pushed really hard to get here, so now I’m kind of just enjoying where I’m at. So, I guess my goal is to live the rest of my life without any regrets. I don’t want to miss anything my kids are doing and I don’t want to sacrifice anything for my job. So, being a good teacher and researcher are still important, but I won’t let my job interfere with enjoying life.

Adriana: What is your career and what do you like the most about it?

Dr. Thyne: I’m a professor. I love researching and learning new things. As a teacher, I like trying to figure out ways to make my students think and question their own assumptions. I also like challenging my students and getting them to realize that they can accomplish much more than they realize. Another great thing about my job is that I can pretty much come and go as I please, so it gives me ample time to be a good family person. So, it sounds kind of silly, but I have considered myself to be retired since I finished graduate school. I’m doing what I love, and I have tons of time to do things that aren’t related to work. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I wouldn’t change a thing (though I’d buy myself a new truck).

Adriana: How can you manage to be a father and deal with your job work all at once?

Dr. Thyne: I think the key here is to very deliberately make a plan for how to use one’s time. For me, I don’t work between 5-9pm or on the weekends. That’s 100% family time. The hard part is that working 8-5, M-F isn’t enough for my job. So, I wake up early so that I can be at the computer by 6am. Sometimes I have to work after the kids go to bed, though I try to avoid that. Beyond doing that, my attitude is that some things about work may just not get done and I’m okay with that. It’s a deliberate choice to do things like that, though. I think a lot of people try to be amazing at both parenting and their job, which is almost impossible to do because there just isn’t enough time in the day. So, I just set parameters that I’m comfortable with ahead of time and try not to break my rules. Now my lifestyle has become a habit, so I don’t think about it much.

Adriana: Would you recommend a career on political science, like being an ambassador, to someone who wants a family and to be close with them like you seem to be with your family? Why or why not?

Dr. Thyne: It can happen, but it’s hard. One can do this with the immediate family because the spouse and kids can always move along. The hard part for our family is that my job meant moving away from everyone else. So, our families live in Colorado and Nebraska, which is kind of a pain. There has been zero support network for helping watch the kids and things like that. It made us strong as a family, but it came at the expense of being around our parents, our siblings, and the kids’ cousins. When thinking internationally, it’s an even bigger leap. You could go years without seeing your parents or siblings, for example. That might not be a big deal, but it’s something to think about in advance. If you can’t handle being away from your family, then I would advise against this route.

One thing that makes being away from family much easier is that our friends are in the same boat. Few professors live anywhere near their family, for instance. That means that we end up being each other’s extended families. My buddy in Louisville (he’s a soc prof) is known as ‘Uncle Ryan’ to my kids, for example, and he’s far more of an uncle than their real uncles. You just have to be creative with your network and your definition of family.

Adriana: What is your definition of success?

Dr. Thyne: That’s certainly a hard one. Money matters – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise because it does. But it shouldn’t be the only thing. I started with that when I was your age…how much money did I want to be happy? I set a clear goal on that. We were pretty poor when I was a kid, so we only got orange juice about once a month on Sundays. You will never meet anyone who likes orange juice as much as me, btw J So, when I was your age, I decided that I want enough money that I can get a glass of orange juice out of my fridge without caring about how much it costs. That ended up being about $80K/year. I make more than that now, so I’ve met my goal on that. I honestly wouldn’t work another 2 hours per week if they offered to double my salary. I have enough on that.

Aside from money, it’s about enjoying every facet of your life. That’s pretty easy to do with family because my wife is great and my kids are fun. The hard part is the job. You have to find something that will pay you that you love doing. A professor was the best choice for me because it pays just enough and provides ample time. So, I enjoy my Mondays spent researching just as much as my Tuesdays spent teaching just as much as my Sundays spent watching my kids play soccer. I like every day of the week – they’re different, but they’re all fun.

And finally, I wanted to make a positive difference in the world. Part of that goes to what I think religion tells me, but mostly it’s just because I’m happy when I’m helping others. Being a professor gives me ample opportunity to do that. Most of the students would be just fine if they never met me. Some, however, need some extra encouragement or help with personal issues to reach their goals. Most students never know what happens behind the scenes because we keep things confidential. However, there is a lot going on and I enjoy helping people through their stuff.

I guess that’s my long-winded definition of success.

Adriana: What advice can you give me as a current college student to accomplish my long-term goal stated before?

Dr. Thyne: Grades are obviously a big deal. Students also wait too long to study for the GRE. The biggest overlooked thing, though, is getting to know professors. We can really help students out if we know them and know what they’re capable of doing. If I have a good student, I know that s/he’ll make me look good. So, I’m happy to call profs at other schools to make sure they get into good programs. Moreover, in places like UK there are tons of students. So, it’s hard to get to know students really well if they don’t put out the effort first. If they put out effort and make contact, most of us are very eager to support their development. And faculty at UK are really smart, so they’ll give great advice. We just don’t have time to seek out the student, so we just have to wait for people to knock on our doors.

Analysis of Interview:

I come from a really family oriented environment. Back in my country (Honduras) we live all together. My grandmother, cousins, aunts and so on. My father traveled a lot when I was a kid because of his job, and even if we move to other countries with him, we would see him maybe a couple times a month, which was really hard when I was younger. He was a successful man but eventually he quit his job, started his own small business and we moved back to my country. Then we became incredibly close, he is literally my best friend and even if he wasn’t around much now he is. Its so nice and inspiring to have interviewed Dr. Thyne. He inspired me in so many ways. He was so open about his life and made me reconsider some of the decisions I had planed for the future. He is a wonderful person and for what I heard a terrific father. I really want to have both a professional and successful life, but I also want to have a family of my own, because really without a family to share my success with, then I guess there’s no point in being successful at all.