ABSTRACT
The transition of moving into the academy from industry is a road fraught with incredible highs of interacting with students to unexpected potholes of organizational politics, procedurally heavy processes and strong professional identity enabled through years of doctoral training. This story highlights the journey from an industry professional to late career entrant into the portrait gallery and documents this portrait’s trials and tribulations to move through the nuances of joining the portrait gallery later in life. With a preliminary exhibit of only two years to wow patrons of the gallery, the portrait struggles to build connections with other portraits and feels as though there is a bomb needing to be defused in the corner of the portrait gallery. Without an appropriate pedigree to be included within the gallery, the portrait finds herself questioning her original decision to enter the portrait gallery and spends many hours ruminating on the decision.
