Over the past twelve years since I completed my PhD, I have held a number of positions in and out of the academy, including as an adjunct professor at a seminary and a small liberal arts school, as the administrator for a large Mellon Foundation grant project at a small college outside Chicago, as the executive director of of an online resource related to my area of doctoral study, and, most recently, as a freelance copy editor and writing coach. I started looking for academic positions in American religious history the year that the financial market collapsed in 2008, and my subfield, as far as I know, has had fewer positions every year ever since then. I feel that I am at last bringing my academic interests and my personal interests full-circle by pursuing an MDiv as part of the credentialing process for the Unitarian Universalist ministry. It’s been wonderful to be back in a religion-focused classroom since the fall semester 2024, and I count my PhD as a main asset that I am bringing to this future work. I’m hopeful that ministry amidst the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century will be a way that I can give back and also make use of the education I received at Princeton. I would be happy to talk to any current grad students about my nontraditional career path!