Humanities Professor Triumphs Obstacles Early in Life
This article is a student submission from Journalism 122 in fall 2021
Jaxson Jason
December 16, 2021
Everyone has hardships they have to face in life, and each person sees them at different ages and phases. For Professor Shari Dinkins, the difficulties began early on. Dinkins grew up in California, where education was not a high priority in her family. The Dinkins family saw their fair share of financial struggles, which ultimately pushed Dinkins to drop out of high school her junior year. She eventually would get her GED and earn her college degree.
Dinkins got her Bachelor’s in English from San Jose State University and her Master’s in English from San Francisco State University. She started working as a part-time instructor in 1999 and eventually took a full-time job at the University of Indiana in Evansville. Dinkins then accepted a full-time position with Illinois Central College (ICC) in 2007 and has worked on campus since then. But her road to ICC did come with a slight hiccup.
In 2007, Dinkins got an offer to teach at Harold-Washington College in Chicago and was excited by the prospect of living in a big city once more. She always thought of herself as a “big city person” because of her ties to San Francisco. However, the college did not process her application paperwork, so Dinkins accepted the offer at ICC. And the move was a good one. She says she has not looked back since.
Prof. Dinkins enjoys her time in central Illinois and talks about how much she loves being in the Midwest because of the “family-oriented” ideology. Another thing she enjoys about the region is the four separate seasons which is very different from what she experienced while living in California. “I don’t mind shoveling snow. I feel like it’s developed my character as a person. Being able to shovel snow and rake leaves and I enjoy the four seasons.”
Prof. Dinkins’ favorite things to do in her free time include sewing for church fundraisers, taking care of her pet gerbils, and reading mystery novels. She loves these things so much—that she intends on spending her retirement years doing much of the same. But she also talks about moving to North Carolina because she has been in talks with some area churches about volunteer opportunities there. A bonus would be proximity to her twin sister, who would only live a day’s drive away in Atlanta, Georgia. One thing is settled for sure—she hopes her other sister moves out of California because of how bad the quality of living is”there. “Once people leave California, the idea of going back there, the quality of life is so bad there because you have to make so much money to live.” However, Prof. Dinkins does mention that “California is a great place to visit.”
Dinkins has dealt with a fair share of hardships and troubles growing up. She dealt with not having a lot of money in a state where money is essential for quality of life. She dealt with dropping out of school while trying to pursue a stable career. And she dealt with some of the pains of the job market where the employer messing up some paperwork caused her to make a different decision that she was not planning to make.
Through it all, the professor has found her way. With a house and a new car to her name, she is ready to finish out the last eight years of her teaching career so she can revisit her sisters and help out churches along the way—to make life better for those who now walk in the shoes she once wore.