Being a part-timer describes conditions of employment: It's not a statement of identity. I am, first and foremost, a teacher. When I was going to school to prepare for my career, my goal was to teach in a community college. The fact that, in order to do so and survive, I had to accept multiple part-time assignments should not have affected my understanding of who I was and what I wanted to accomplish.

Unfortunately, it did. I'm still discovering how big of an impact this has had on my self-image, but as I prepare for my first year of teaching as a full-time, tenure-track instructor, I'm already stunned by the change. Soon after I accepted the offer, one of my critics wrote, "This position could have gone to a part-timer instead," and I began to realize that there would be a change in the way others viewed me. I'm just beginning to understand how big of an impact that will have on how I view myself.

When my division chair met with me to discuss my first year's teaching schedule, the conversation was entirely different than it had been when I was a part-timer. The fact that we were planning my schedule for the full year instead of a single quarter was significant enough, but the way my choices were presented was, for me, even more stunning.

Usually, I would hear, "These are the classes that are available. Which would you be interested in teaching?" (We have a "priority hire" system at Green River, and I was near the top of the "Adjunct In-File" list.) This time it was, "I'm afraid that we set the schedule a year in advance, but next year you'll be able to let us know what you would like to teach. For now, would you be willing to teach these classes?"

Since I'm the union president at Green River (we represent all of the faculty, both full- and part-time), I already have an office, and I'll be able to keep it. My dean mentioned that she hoped I would run for another term because we are beginning to face an office shortage and some of the full-time faculty were having to share their offices. As a part-timer, the thought of sharing an office didn't bother me, but the fact that the dean was almost apologetic about it was a lot different than what I've been used to.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a breakfast hosted by the local Chamber of Commerce for "new teachers in the district." At one point, I was introduced by our VP of Instruction as a "new instructor" who had been teaching at the college for ten years. The person whom I was being introduced to seemed a little confused.

Last week, I attended a "New Faculty Institute" sponsored by Washington's State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. For two days, we participated in workshops and discussions about pedagogy and teaching strategies. At the beginning of the Institute, we were all gathered together and asked how many of us had already been teaching as part-timers. Almost all of us raised our hands.

Most of us had been teaching for years, but this was our first opportunity to participate in this type of event. I've been fortunate enough to be able to attend a few conferences because I've taught at colleges that include part-time faculty in professional development funding, but I spoke to many for whom this event was their first opportunity to develop their teaching skills.

I was a teacher, first and foremost, when I was a part-timer, and that has not changed. As a union activist, I'm still concerned about the injustices and working conditions endured by part-time and other contingent faculty, and I intend to continue my work as an advocate. But as a full-time faculty member, I am just beginning to appreciate how important the resources are that are only now being made available to me.