Take 5 with Jack Amoureux

Dr. Jack Amoureux

Associate Teaching Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University

1. How do you define success for yourself? What has helped you to be successful?

For me, success is relative to my own standards and not those of others, but when it comes to evaluating your success you also have to be generous and forgiving. In many ways, life is about failures and how we respond to them and find hope in the face of adversity. Success for me is also being able to take pleasure in the little things, like a good cup of coffee on the porch, the warm voice of a friend, or a squirrel scampering across the grass.

2. Think of a time that you faced a challenge, obstacle, or roadblock. How did you get through that and what did you learn?

With each challenge or roadblock I learn that you must simply go on. Remember what is important to you and find a creative way to meet that goal. Sometimes, though, you have to adjust the goal and there is no shame in that.

3. Who are your people (either by name or role) who help you to be successful/confident/intentional/reflective/any other descriptor you want to use? And how have they helped you?

My friends who are also my colleagues in my academic discipline have helped me tremendously and have been a constant source of support, advice and inspiration. These are colleagues who I went to grad school with or simply met at conferences during panels and receptions like Professor Brent Steele, Dean Jeremy Youde, and Professor Harry Gould. They are also more senior colleagues who took an interest in me when I was a junior scholar through such gestures as inviting me to a workshop at the University of Aberystwyth (Professor Toni Erskine) or agreeing to be an external member of my dissertation committee (Professor Nicholas Onuf). Also, when I was an undergraduate there were professors who saw something in me and who were responsive to my desire to work with them on their projects or be their teaching assistant (Stephanie Witt, Leslie Alm). Most of all, my fiance has been my biggest cheerleader by continuously reaffirming my worth in the world.

4. How did you find your people?

I found my people by being open to possibility and taking risks in introducing myself and putting my work out in the world.

5. What advice would you give to Wake Forest students as they look for their people?

Be generous. The best friendships and supporters are often the most unlikely. I met my best friend and future colleague in grad school. As we were standing next to each other for the first time and he towered above me I thought that we could not be more different and that I would probably have nothing in common with this guy, but I was very wrong! Also, know when you are not getting support and look elsewhere for affirmation because people have many different reasons for not respecting you and you can’t invest your self-worth in those interactions.