The Series on the People of the FSS

What does your ideal morning look like?
Of course—just like during our Monday meetings. But if I happen to have the morning off, then my ideal start to the day begins early and is spent outdoors. That’s because mornings have a completely different atmosphere compared to the rest of the day. Everything feels lighter, more beautiful, and—best of all—there’s no one around. When I can go fora walk like that, I like to prescribe myself some soul-soothing music—like Architects or, for perfect zen, Lorna Shore.

What book(s) have you recently read and would recommend?
Spoiler alert: I’m hopeless when it comes to this—I’m one of those chaotic readers who always has several books going at the same time. Right now, I’m reading the second volume of The Witcher, finishing Dámy na zabití (think Charlie’s Angels, but if your grandma were the lead), and with all this rainy weather, I’ve picked up my beloved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman again. It’s best read in the fall, but that story warms you up any time of year. For all millennials in crisis, I highly recommend The Age of Aquarius. Oh, and I’ve also got a bookmark in the hefty tome The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl—you know, the Foo Fighters frontman who looks suspiciously like the drummer from Nirvana.

What do you look forward to most in your workday?
The daily coffee and the signature sharp humor that defines our office. But what I truly look forward to is working with our students. They’re absolutely brilliant, and I find them incredibly inspiring. I love how deeply they care about their fields—and the faculty as a whole—and how they’re able to pass that FSS enthusiasm on to others.

What has surprised you most in the past six months?
Exactly two things: how much rent costs in Brno these days—and the fact that Gandalf doesn’t have a permanent home. No cottage, no house, not even a humble studio apartment. It’s one of those things that’s completely obvious, but it only really hits you when you hear it mentioned in some nerdy podcast.

What is your favorite place at the faculty?
Classroom P51, back row, far upper right, about the fourth seat from the window. That’s where I sat during my very first lecture at FSS—Introduction to Journalism with Associate Professor Waschková Císařová—and it had the most beautiful view of the Špilberk Castle. I’d ever seen as a fresh Brno outsider-turned-local. I should also mention the yellow library with the window facing Jaselská. If you haven’t had a good cry over at least one thesis chapter there, then have you even been a student here?

What advice would you give to your student self?
Don’t spend so much time buried in studying, don’t start drinking coffee (it’s a trap!), and take the back staircase—it’s way less crowded.