Catherine Herrold, Syracuse University, USA

What are you researching at the moment? 

Grassroots civil society in Serbia 

What is your go-to website for news and analysis? 

Foreign Affairs and The Economist 

Do you have a writing routine? 

When I wrote my first book I wrote every single day for at least two hours in the morning followed by, if I had time, two more hours in the afternoon and one hour in the evening. 

What was the worst advice you have been given? 

Don’t take risks on the tenure track. 

Have you ever been inspired by a student? If so, how? 

Yes! My students at the University of Belgrade FPN inspire me with their creativity, intelligence, savviness, critical thinking, and willingness to be a bit mischevious. 

Name one thing that you would do if you were not a professor? 

I would earn another PhD so I could be a professor in that field. I love being a professor and can’t imagine another job. 

Describe Balkan in three words 

My new home. 

Would you share with us something you would never put in your CV? 

I represented Serbia in the 2023 Winter World Swimming Championships in Lake Bled, Slovenia, in January 2023.