We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tim Herd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I have been blessed to work on a lot of amazing projects that hold significance to me, but the most meaningful project might have to be one of my first projects. This was the development of my mentoring organization during my time as an undergraduate student at Michigan State University. Developing this organization set me on the path that I currently am on in terms of engaging in research and community work simultaneously, which I now do as a PhD student at UCLA.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well to start, I am from Detroit, Michigan, and I moved out here to Los Angeles for school. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Higher Education & Organizational Change at UCLA, and I also am a creative consultant. While the PhD student title is more self-explanatory, it has a lot of overlap and connection with my work as a creative consultant. In both of these positions I have had the autonomy to grow as I go from an abstract perspective. In a more practical lens, this appears in the form of me being able to craft the research that I want as a doctoral student, which is focused on governance, culture, and student success. As a creative consultant, this occurs through me developing partnerships and collaborating with organizations that have an underlying mission of serving people, particularly from historically underserved and marginalized communities. This has appeared in the form of developing an e-STEM mentoring program to recruit students from rural Raleigh, NC to NC State to developing reports for Selena Gomez’ company Wondermind, which focuses on destigmatizing mental health.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is having the opportunity to create and engage in the work that I want to do. This leaves space to dream and continue to think about the ways in which I want to positively impact the world during my time here on this Earth. Even those days when I am exhausted because I find myself typing or working on a project for hours at a time, I still feel as though I am pouring into myself because I am engaging in work that I am passionate about. Being a creative is one of those positions where I feel that I am being constantly receiving just as much as I am giving in terms of time, thought, and energy.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
For me, my journey has been equally traditional and non-traditional. In my household and many of my friends, our parents would tell us to go to school and get an education so that we could get a good job. This has been seen as a traditional route, and for me I have ran with the first part of that advice. In fact, for me I went to school, and have not yet left as I have been attending school non-stop since I was 4 years old, and I am now 26. While I am towards the end of my journey from a formal education standpoint, I have had the ability to also engage on a non-traditional path in being a creative consultant. I began this work by creating my first consulting position for myself as an undergraduate student based on some of the work that I had already been engaging within via the development of my mentoring organization. So while folks might think that the academy or college might be the most creative place, it is a breeding ground for youthful energy and creative insight just waiting to make a positive impact on the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.timjherd.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timjherd/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-herd-m-a-m-s-ed-32527a11a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/timjherd
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@timjherd?lang=en