When the Campus Sleeps, My Work Continues!

Every year, as the college empties and the familiar rhythm of campus life slows down, people often assume that lecturers are finally enjoying a well-deserved summer or winter break. I smile when I hear that because, for some of us, the holidays exist only on the academic calendar.

Since taking on the role of Programme Leader for the PgDE programme, my understanding of what a "college break" means has changed completely. While classrooms fall silent and students head home, my workload simply shifts from teaching to planning, coordinating, developing, and improving. In many ways, the work behind the scenes is even more demanding than what happens during the semester.

This break has been no exception.

The days have been filled with preparing for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accreditation process, an undertaking that demands meticulous attention to detail, strategic planning, evidence collection, and collaboration. Every document, every policy, every assessment, and every learning resource contributes to a much larger picture of programme quality. It is a challenging process, but it has also become one of the most valuable professional learning experiences of my career.

Alongside CAEP, I have been immersed in developing audio-visual resources for the School Immersion and Teaching Practice (SITP). Creating these resources has required me to think beyond traditional teaching. It has pushed me to learn video production, instructional design, digital content creation, and new approaches to supporting student-teachers during their clinical practice. There is something deeply satisfying about building resources that will continue to benefit future cohorts long after they are completed.

The irony is that while these responsibilities have significantly expanded my professional knowledge, skills, and experience, they have also quietly taken away something many people take for granted: the opportunity to truly disconnect.

There are no long, carefree holidays. No extended periods where work is completely absent from my mind. Instead, there are deadlines to meet, meetings to coordinate, documents to review, videos to edit, surveys to design, and countless emails waiting for responses.

At times, it can feel exhausting.

Yet, when I pause and reflect, I realise that growth rarely happens in comfort. Every challenge has taught me something new. Leading a programme has strengthened my leadership, communication, decision-making, and quality assurance skills in ways that ordinary teaching alone may never have done. The CAEP journey has broadened my perspective on international standards in teacher education, while developing SITP resources has deepened my appreciation for innovative approaches to preparing future teachers.

These experiences are shaping me into a better educator, a more capable leader, and a lifelong learner.

Do I miss having uninterrupted holidays? Absolutely.

Would I appreciate a few days without checking emails or thinking about accreditation documents? Without question.

But I also recognise that meaningful work often comes with meaningful responsibility. Leadership is not always visible in meetings or ceremonies; more often, it unfolds quietly during the moments when everyone else assumes the work has stopped.

So, while the campus may be on holiday, my journey continues, one document, one resource, one meeting, and one lesson at a time.

Perhaps that is the hidden side of academic leadership: the work that no one sees, but that lays the foundation for stronger programmes, better learning experiences, and brighter futures for the next generation of teachers.

And maybe, one day, the holidays will return. Until then, I will keep learning, creating, and leading, because despite the sacrifices, there is purpose in the work, and there is fulfilment in knowing that every effort contributes to something larger than myself.

One final lesson from this "holiday": educational videos may look effortless, but behind every polished recording is a lecturer juggling scripts, cameras, edits and occasionally an outfit designed exclusively for the camera frame.

The audience saw a professional lecturer. The camera saw only half the truth.