Fifteen Minutes: Taking an Education Outside the Box

Sometimes, when the perfect moment presents itself, itis only right to let the caged bird free.

With a doctorate degree from Harvard in the History of American Civilization and three years as a teaching fellow for History and Literature, 41-year-old Pleun Bouricius is just now realizing that the intrigue of Harvard has all but disappeared. Her decision: next year she will gather her things from her Massachusetts nest and head where the wind takes heroover the open road and behind the wheel of a Mac truck.

iItis funny how a PhD can really become like a professional and educational head trip,i Bouricius said. iIt gives you lots of stuff to think about and opens the doors to a whole new world of experiences about which to write. But after a while you get scared that youill become tired of sitting behind a screen all day, writing for other people your whole life. Thatis why I sought a job whereby I can think freely.i

To ithink freely,i Bouricius has accepted the position of a cross-country truck driver this summer. After sending out her resume to more than 30 universities in the Northeast region in a job-hunt process she described as iboot camp at best,i Bouriciusomuch to the chagrin of her colleaguesohas decided to take a career plunge. The evidence is everywhere in her life. An archeologist friend has already helped her to gain proficiency in gun marksmanship, and her coffee table contains flashy fliers from Schneider, Swift and Werner, some of the largest trucking firms in the U.S. She will enroll in a truck driving schooling program this summer to prepare for the intricacies of the professionoranging from familiarity with the bunk bed setup in many modern cabs and the new technology that has infected even this industry.

iThey even have e-mail setups in the cabins now,i she said. iItis amazing.i But for this Holland native, perhaps the most thrilling aspect of her new profession will be the chance for her to explore the vast wilderness of the United States and pockets of the country where her experiences have yet to take her. As she sat in her rural, Western Massachusetts home during her interviewoa two and a half hour commute from Cambridge that she travels everyday in her gray-colored, old jeeposhe expressed awe at the landscape beyond her window:

iI wish you could see what I can right now,i she said. iI have no neighbors and Iim surrounded by 15 acres of lush land. Just up the road is the patch where someday I hope to build. This is my home base, but I just have this creeping feeling that there is so much more out there.i

oA. C. Marek