Sitting in his office wearing a Darth Vader t-shirt, Patrick Hrdlicka revealed his dream job – to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” franchise.
“Sitting and being on a spaceship and just explore the universe, meeting new civilizations, making contact. That”s fantastic,” Hrdlicka said.
Although Hrdlicka did not grow up to lead a voyage through space, he said Star Trek and other science-fiction programs like it inspired him to pursue a career in chemistry. Hrdlicka is now an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Idaho.
Hrdlicka grew up in Denmark – a very different community than Idaho. He said Denmark is the closest thing he knows to a functioning socialist state.
The people of Denmark receive free education. Though Hrdlicka said nothing is truly free in life, he was paid to go to school when he progressed to higher education. The amount he was given increased as he progressed, from about $800 a month when he was an undergraduate all the way to around $4,000 the last two years he was pursuing his Ph.D.
“I”ve been joking that I took a pay cut coming here as an assistant professor, which is close to being true,” he said.
While he enjoyed life in Denmark, Hrdlicka said there are 100 reasons why he moved to the United States.
When he was 19, Hrdlicka traveled to the U.S. to embark on a 100-day road trip that covered 20,000 miles. It was then he said he fell in love with America”s nature and its people”s mentalities.
Along with this, Hrdlicka said he appreciated that the U.S. culture supported the opportunity to succeed. He said he can be a competitive person, but that is almost frowned upon in Denmark.
“I don”t like being held back,” he said. “I like the idea that through hard work, or great intelligence or talent or whatever you call it, you can succeed.”
A self-identified competitive sportsman, Hrdlicka started multiple sports from a young age. He said he did his first shot-put when he was two years old and practiced track and field with his father for a long time after that. He considered doing it professionally but ultimately decided against it.
Hrdlicka also started table tennis at six years old. Eventually he said he got so good that he was in the top 30 of his age group in Denmark. He played until he was 18, but then put down the paddle for 19 years. However, he said he recently picked it back up again and now advises UI”s table tennis club.
When Hrdlicka and his girlfriend – who is now his wife – first moved to America after he accepted the job as an assistant professor at UI, he said it was tough. For the first two to three months they had nothing except their four cats they brought with them. He said their table was a vacuum box.
Eventually though, things got better, he said.
Two of the four cats they came here with are still alive – Rocky and Rambo, both named after iconic movie characters. Hrdlicka said he loves movies. Some of his favorites are the “Lord of the Rings” series and “Inception.”
“I really enjoy having my brain wowed,” he said.
Hrdlicka said he named his two sons after famous movie characters. His oldest is named Nicholas Neo, and his younger son is named Benjamin Anakin.
“Neo and Anakin are both the chosen ones in their respective movies,” he said.
This is Hrdlicka”s first year serving on Faculty Senate, and said he is happy to be in a place where he can help the university make progress. He said he feels strongly about multiple issues, and knows that complaining quietly won”t make things any better.
Even though Hrdlicka said he thinks Faculty Senate has accomplished very little in the past year, he realizes that progress is slow and that it will take many small changes to fix big problems. Instead of being frustrated by the pace of the improvements, Hrdlicka said he is encouraged by the attitude of the administration. He said it”s not common to have people in powerful positions admit that there are problems, and he appreciates the efforts they are making to be transparent.
Hrdlicka said while he is on Faculty Senate he hopes to see improvements in faculty and staff morale, as well as an increase in pay for both regular employees and graduate teaching assistants (TA).
Throughout his time at UI, Hrdlicka said he has worked with a fantastic group of graduate students, and considers them as his children. He works to sharpen their minds, and in turn, he said they sharpen his. After his hard work with them is through, he said it is all worth it when he sees them go on to great jobs when they leave the university.
“You can”t but feel a great sense of responsibility towards them,” Hrdlicka said. “Wishing them, wanting them to succeed.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer