James T. Kirk/Starfleet career/Postings & Assignments/Academy instructor

During the same period, Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant and worked as an instructor at the Academy. It was around this time he first met Cadet Gary Mitchell, who was a student in his class where, according to an upperclassman, "you either think or sink". Mitchell later remembered Kirk as "a stack of books with legs." In an attempt to divert his friend's attention and make the class easier to get through, Mitchell set Kirk up with a "little blonde lab technician" whom Kirk almost married. ()
Kirk's early career included a year alongside Janice Lester, during which time the two became romantically involved. The perceived lack of opportunities for a woman to command a starship struck them both as unfair, but she became embittered by the supposed career barrier. Their relationship soured to a point where Kirk felt she punished and tortured him for her circumstances. Years later, Kirk said that he never stopped her from going on with her "space work", but ultimately felt that "we'd have killed each other" if they had stayed together. Lester recalled that Kirk walked out on her "when it became serious." ()