What is a Duhawk, anyway?

I’m sure this is old news by now for many avid fans of this blog, but Kate, Will and Claire will be packing up their bags and moving to Dubuque, IA this summer. Why Dubuque? Well, Kate has her first real job there. She will be an assistant professor at Loras College, a school of about 1700 students. She will be teaching and doing research in the Division of Molecular and Life Sciences. Kate also grew up in Dubuque and her parents still live there. The cost of living is cheap, and, judging by the national recognition Dubuque has received in recent year the quality of life is pretty good. All in all it is a good move for the family, and it almost didn’t happen.

In mid-December Kate had a meeting with her graduate committee members and was given the go-ahead to graduate this summer. Up to that point the question had been “will I ever graduate?” During that meeting the question abruptly shifted to “what will I do afterwards?” A few days spent with the Google and Kate found the Loras position posting. Unfortunately, the deadline to apply was past. A quick call to Loras confirmed that, but Kate was told to send her materials in anyway as the review committee was meeting in two days to make their first cut. With some encouragement from those around her, Kate got her application in and shortly thereafter was invited for a phone interview. After a phone interview came the invitation to an on-campus interview and after that came the job offer.

So, Kate applied for one job and got one job doing what she wants to do, where she wants to do it. That’s not very common.

Anyway, we’re excited and Claire is already trying to figure out what Dubuque has to offer the little people. She’s also trying to choose whether to wear Luther blue or Loras purple. And she’s trying to figure out what a Duhawk is. What will Will do in Dubuque? Well, that’s a good question, and the answer is still to be determined. He's heard that stay-at-home dad may not be a bad gig, and Kate might appreciate having a hot meal on the table, clean clothes and a relatively clean house when she gets home from a long, hard day of educating Duhawks.