Students scramble to make a decent resume, constantly work on LinkedIn profiles and pump out internship applications, all while the fear of choosing the wrong career path looms in the backs of their minds.

However, it’s easy to forget many people who are successful in their fields had those same thoughts at one point. Patsy Sibley, an interdisciplinary studies professor with a Ph.D. in psychology, talked about her fascinating journey with volunteer work after graduating from University of Alabama that caused her to end up where she is now.

“I had no idea what I was going to do during my junior and senior year [of college],” Sibley said. “When I wasn’t in school, I lived in Atlanta and worked with a group there that helped trans kids find housing. It’s hard to be trans anywhere, especially at around 16, but it’s really hard to be all of that in the Deep South, so we had a lot of kids who would come out and their parents would disown them and, not knowing what else to do, they’d end up on a bus and come to Atlanta without anywhere to go. The group I worked with used networks and community resources to house these kids, and while I was there I realized I wanted to study gender in a way that was more official.”

Sibley has worked with numerous nonprofits over the years and is currently involved in Girls Rock NC, a youth organization that runs rock camps for girls and non-binary youths. The program uses music to help its members find their voice within society.

“I wanted to understand the social development of the kids I worked with,” Sibley said, “so I came here and studied social development with Dr. Amy Halberstadt in the Psychology Department. Once I finished my Ph.D., I changed departments to teach gender studies and science, technology and society.”

During her time at NC State, Sibley has taught a wide range of classes, from Psychology of Emotion and The Art & Science of Happiness to Gender and Science Fiction (WGS 293) and Women and Gender in Science and Technology (WGS/STS 210, which she currently teaches).

“I didn’t want to just ask questions in the way that traditional developmental theory would lead you to ask those questions,” Sibley said. “I also wanted to know, ‘what does feminist theory say about this? What does critical race theory say about this? What do sociological theories say about this?’ It always felt intuitive to me that we couldn’t answer big questions unless we looked at all of those perspectives. And interdisciplinary studies […] that’s kind of the whole deal.”

As she spoke, Sibley tackled every question with an enthusiasm one could only imagine is reflected in her teaching. When asked about her favorite courses to teach, she regarded WGS 293 as a highlight.

“[Gender and Science Fiction] was pretty small, which helps because we all got to know each other pretty well,” Sibley said. “We all had a shared interest because it was kind of a niche topic for everyone to be really interested in feminist theory and also science fiction. For me, it was a really refreshing way to engage in and use feminist theory. To get to teach text that I would normally just read for fun is pretty exciting.”

On the subject of WGS 293, Sibley stated that her curriculum for the course was partially inspired by Margaret Simon, head of the English Honors program who taught a similar course — Studies in Gender and Genre.

“[Sibley]’s done similar work in gender and science fiction using comics and we have talked a bit about utilizing visual narratives more in our courses,” Simon said. “Her work in interdisciplinary studies let’s her bring a wide range of perspectives into the media she approaches, which I really value.”

Sibley said her favorite aspect of her Gender in Science, Technology & Society class is its large range of students, ironically the opposite of why she enjoys Gender and Science Fiction.

“My WGS 210 class is a GEP class,” Sibley said. “Lots and lots of people take it to meet their interdisciplinary perspectives and U.S. diversity requirements, so I have a lot of people in that class who otherwise probably never would’ve taken a gender studies class. I see my challenge and goal in that class as to make sure that those students are just as engaged by the end of the semester as the ones who started off knowing they wanted to be there.”

Sibley is also the scholar in residence for WISE (Women In Science & Engineering), located in Lee Residence Hall. Her position allows her to reside in the building and engage with students in a more holistic manner.

“I work with the women over there to help them develop their scientific identities. Our goal over there is to support them in whatever way we possibly can so that they have the best STEM education experience imaginable, which for women and underrepresented minorities is not always the norm. I do research on STEM initiatives and what works in trying to incorporate identity in STEM education.”

Sibley’s interests and research delve into civil issues as well. The “March for Our Lives” and the “Me Too” movement have garnered a lot of attention from her. In the former’s case, Sibley said she’s fascinated by the sudden pushes in legislature led by the adolescent leaders who emerged from the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, especially after America spent so much time in a place of stagnation.

“There are a couple of very high profile cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment that came to the floor all at the same time and fueled this movement,” Sibley said of the “Me Too” movement. “But also the technology is here; it exploded because the right person tweeted about it. All of those forces came together to create this space in which this movement emerged. That’s the kind of stuff I want students to be able to critically analyze and think about because it’s an interesting question from any of those theoretical perspectives.”

Dr. Sibley will be teaching a new course under WGS 293, Feminist Social Movements, in the fall 2018 semester.