Just a few weeks before the AAHHE conference in March 2020, I was awarded tenure and promotion at the University of La Verne. For a few days in February, I felt a sense of triumph and relief, relishing the fact that after years of lucha, I’d finally made it past all the academic gauntlets and become an associate professor.

But unexpectedly, before long, that joy receded. I felt a void that I didn’t fully understand, as I asked myself, what should I do now? ¿Y ahora qué? I talked about this strange feeling with family, friends, and colleagues, trying to make sense of why I felt aimless after spending 12 years in grad school and junior faculty life. It was through those conversations that I learned that post-tenure slump is a real thing.

I came to the AAHHE conference with that weight on my back, but I left with a sense of pride and purpose. Within a few minutes of connecting with the Faculty Fellows, I felt part of a community that I desperately needed. Though I have many close colleagues at my home university and elsewhere, I felt an instant kinship with the Fellows, a feeling that we were meant to come together at this particular time and place and build comunidad together.

One of the most beautiful aspects of my experience at AAHHE was the sense of uplift I received from everyone, when they learned I had received tenure. One of the running jokes of the weekend was my colleague Oscar Navarro suddenly announcing, “Christian got tenure!” and having all the Faculty Fellows cheer and applaud for me, even after the tenth time doing so. Moreover, I was especially moved by the pride I saw in the faces of the AAHHE elders, who expressed such joy to learn that I had made it to associate. I lost my father in 2000 and my mother in 2017, so I did not get the chance to call mis papás and share the good news about my tenure. In a very real and powerful way, the affirmations I received made me feel like my parents, my tios and tias, mis abuelos, my cousins, all my ancestors were holding me up and expressing an orgullo that is generational and transcendental. The joy I felt was for them, for my colegas, and for the ones who will come after me.

The several days I spent at the AAHHE conference, in community with Faculty Fellows and Grad Fellows, with AAHHE leaders, with Latinx professionals and practitioners, provided an answer to the question, ¿Y ahora qué? In my post-tenure life, I aspire to uplift other gente in the academy. With the help of mentors and friends, I ran a long race and made it through the finish line; it’s time for me to go back and run alongside others as well, guide them on the path, cheer them on. AAHHE made me realize that my tenure and promotion was a gift that, when opened, needed to be shared with others.   •