Dr. Christine Shea knew she wanted to be a classics professor since she was a teenager. It was her dream, an aspiration literally spelled out for the world to see. It was printed under her high school senior photo: “wants to be a classics professor.”

She has been living that dream for decades. At the end of the 2023-24 academic year, Dr. Shea completed 40 years of service as a professor of classics at Ball State University’s College of Sciences and Humanities.

“I imagine some people hate their jobs, but I’m not one of them. I love what I do,” Dr. Shea said.

She also loves where she works, often referring to Ball State, Muncie, and Indiana as “almost paradise.”

“It’s so pleasant and neighborly here,” explained Dr. Shea, an Illinois native, about the state, city, and University. “Wherever I go, I rarely hear anyone explode and yell at someone in public, for example. It’s safe here compared to other parts of the world.”

Finding that first dream job—much less, finding it in a place she considers “almost paradise”—wasn’t easy. Even after earning her doctoral degree, there were only 33 full-time jobs available in this country, Dr. Shea said. One of those job openings was at Ball State. When she came to Ball State for her employment interview, she fell in love with the campus.

“The campus was, and still is, so beautiful,” she said. “I stumbled upon the David Owsley Museum of Art on our campus. I was so impressed. I fell in love with this campus before I met anyone. But also, the people at Ball State were wonderful. The people here now are wonderful, too.”

The Allure of the Ancient World

The classics encompass the study of the ancient Greek and Roman languages, culture, literature, and history of the people of the ancient world, as well as how those elements impact societies of later periods. The multi-faceted nature of the classics is what appeals to Dr. Shea.

“When you study the classics, you can study all sorts of things,” Dr. Shea explained. “The ancient world entails so much. It’s a whole world onto itself, and yet it parallels our world as it is today. It’s fascinating.”

In addition to in-class instruction in the classics, Dr. Shea has taken numerous students on educational trips to Greece and Italy during Winter and Summer Breaks for the last 20 years, except when travel was restricted or prohibited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You can see the Parthenon for the ‘first time’ once. But seeing other people experience it for the first time is almost as good,” Dr. Shea said.

Firmly Planted at Ball State

When she is not with students among the ancient ruins of Greece and Italy, Dr. Shea is happy being at Ball State—working among colleagues and leaders she respects and teaching students who share her fascination with the classics.

Nothing is perfect all the time, she acknowledges. Still, she subscribes to the old saying, “You bloom where you’re planted.” It’s advice she would share with anyone within the campus community who experiences little troubles that seem bigger than they are.

“Find a way to bloom while at Ball State,” Dr. Shea added. “Enjoy it, and don’t be held back by little irritants or things that temporarily go wrong. Take a walk on our beautiful campus. Smell the flowers. Look at the trees. See the students and their wonderful faces. And, of course, it’s also rewarding to see students achieve. All that can sustain you through a lot, no matter what gets thrown at you. It’s part of what has made my time at Ball State special.”