1. My full name is John Daniel Collens, but I go by Jack, which makes me Jack Daniel. My nephew, brother, father, grandfather, and the first-born sons of the prior two generations are all named Thomas Collens (Tom Collens). My daughter’s name is Stella. Surprisingly, the connection to alcohol (the Tennessee whiskey Jack Daniel’s, the cocktail Tom Collins, and the beer Stella Artois) are all coincidental, as I’ve assured my wife we did not name our daughter after beer.
2. What’s not coincidental is the theme of dog names in our family. I grew up with a golden retriever named Vodka and my parents now have three dachshunds named Champagne (Champ), Abita (a brewery near my hometown in Louisiana—they call her Abbi), and Brandy. My brother has two dogs named Gin and Bailey. My dog, Athena, is named after a beer produced at the Creature Comforts Brewery in Athens, GA, where I attended graduate school.
3. While in graduate school, I managed a liquor store. I gained a tremendous respect for the diversity of products out there, but also a deep concern for the effects alcohol can have on those who overdo it.
4. I grew up in and near New Orleans, LA. Every year until I graduated from college at Louisiana State University, we had a spring break, an Easter break (Catholicism is big down there, so even many public schools got Easter breaks), and a Mardi Gras break. I still get blank stares when I tell my friends who still live in Louisiana that I can’t visit for Mardi Gras because I have to work.
5. I’ve played the saxophone since I was nine years old. I still enjoy playing, but I almost never get the chance to do so. Compared to the guitar, the saxophone isn’t nearly as enjoyable to play by yourself, so unless and until I find someone to join, both my saxes sit in the basement gathering dust.
6. In high school, I attended a band camp at Grambling State University, an HBCU in northern Louisiana. They’re famed for their band (which served, in part, as the inspiration for the film "Drumline"). I’m still incredibly proud of the time I spent there, as I won the “Most Improved” trophy at the end of the camp. I attribute my love of jazz improvisation to my time there.
7. I was set on law school for most of my college career at LSU. When I was a junior, I even began to teach the LSAT for Princeton Review. Fortunately, I discovered a love of teaching and realized I had no passion for the law. Instead, I combined my affinity for teaching with my pursuit of a better understanding of American politics and decided to pursue a Ph.D. in political science.
8. While in college, I never missed a home football game at LSU. They won a national championship my senior year. Some of my fondest memories are of tailgating from 5:00 in the morning until about an hour before kickoff (usually around 7:00 in the evening). Until I left the South, I didn’t appreciate just how special that kind of tailgating was.
9. I’m an avid reader. I read over 80 (non-work-related) books in 2019, and I’m on track for about the same in 2020. I read a combination of paperbacks/hardcover books, Kindle eBooks, and audiobooks (we process the information the same, so I count it as reading!). I don’t stick to any one genre—I typically read a nonfiction book and a fiction book simultaneously. History, historical fiction, mystery, literary fiction, the classics, memoirs—everything is fair game.
10. I studied abroad in Argentina in 2007, which helped me to earn my degree in Spanish. I spent most of my time in Buenos Aires, but did weekend trips to Mendoza (in the wine-producing region near the Andes Mountains) and Iguazú Falls on the border with Brazil and Paraguay.