I Left Higher Ed, Went Remote, & Spent My Birthday Teaching Abroad 🇲🇽

After eight years as a nutrition professor, I stepped away from my full-time faculty position, began working remotely as a registered dietitian, and spent my birthday teaching nutrition workshops in Mexico! 🇲🇽 But there's much more to this story. Join me in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, where I share what brought me to the Caribbean, how I became a registered dietitian while pursuing my PhD, and what life and work look like now. I'm also reflecting on my years in higher education—the teaching, research, students, opportunities, and experiences I loved, but also the expectations, sacrifices, stress, and health challenges that came with that chapter of my career. There were some incredible experiences, including developing and teaching a Nutrition and Herbalism course, conducting research, mentoring students, and creating opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. I'm not finished with academia. My relationship with it is simply changing. I'm still a dietitian, researcher, educator, and creative person. I'm making more room for handmade jewelry, sculpture, urban homesteading, travel, and the many other things that make me who I am. And I need more open water in my life! 🌊 I don't have everything figured out. I'm learning what it means to create a life that makes room for all of me. LET'S TALK! Have you ever worked hard to build a career, only to realize that you wanted something different from your life? Are you contemplating a career transition, changing your relationship with work, or rediscovering interests you've put aside? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments. Subscribe and follow along for conversations about nutrition, education, research, creativity, gardening, travel, and figuring out what comes next. LINKS & RESOURCES Nutrition Travel Exchange — Teaching and travel opportunities for dietitians: https://nutritiontravelexchange.com/ Connect with me on LinkedIn, Research consulting, speaking, workshops, and collaborations.   / kellie-mayfield-phd-menvs-rdn-b83a61252   CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction — Mexico, Life, and Career Transitions 00:30 Using Your Apple Watch to See How You Look on Phone Video00:45 Balcony View — The Caribbean Sea in the Distance 03:26 A Bit About Me and My Current Identity 04:35 Birthday Sunrise Over the Water 08:30 How I Got to Mexico and What I Loved About the Resort 10:00 How I Became a Dietitian While Pursuing My PhD 11:30 What I'm Doing Now That I'm No Longer an Assistant Professor 12:20 I Made a Boo-Boo (Break in the Story) 12:50 My Love of Water — All the Way to the Pacific Northwest 13:15 What's My Current Work Schedule Like? 18:00 The Money Is There, but the Transition Feels Foreign 19:30 What I Was Doing Before 21:49 Squirrel! 24:50 After the Work I Came to Do — Past the Fuzziness 26:30 Nutrition Workshops and Teaching in Mexico — Future Possibilities? 28:55 I Need More Open Water in My Life 29:30 What I Think Higher Education Cost Me 30:00 How Learning Changes You 30:40 My Doctoral Work Is Not My Only Legacy 32:49 I'm Also a Research Consultant — And I Have Skills in Droves 35:00 Fear, Failure, and Expectations 37:36 A Peer Evaluator Said I Was a Great Teacher 39:15 Creating My Nutrition and Herbalism Course — We Loved It! 40:45 A Blood Transfusion and My First Ambulance Ride 41:55 When the Stress Became Overwhelming — Life Before Tenure 44:00 Another Way My Body Responded to Stress 47:10 From My Lips to God's Ears 48:35 The Work Is Necessary and Powerful — So Are the Bodily Responses 51:45 I Don't Have It All Figured Out 52:00 I Didn't Want to Die from This Stress 52:55 Two Lower Blood Pressure Readings — Outliers? Dunno 🤷🏾‍♀️ #CareerTransition #HigherEducation #RegisteredDietitian #TeachingAbroad #WomenInAcademia #RedefiningSuccess