What do you do? 

I’m faculty in the College of Education’s Curriculum & Instruction Department. In my role, I teach two kinds of classes: methods classes for undergraduate English majors and master’s students who want to become teachers & qualitative methods, critical theory, and literacy content classes for graduate students. Teachers are a vital part of our community, and my job is to support these teachers to engage in the profession equitably.

What led you to this career? 

I think the career found me. I never wanted to be a professor. In fact, I didn’t know how one became a professor. But, after teaching high school English for several years, I decided to go back to school and learn how to be a more effective educator. My goal was to go back to the classroom after I graduated, and I did in a way. It’s just that the classroom environment changed from a high school to a college-level space.

What interests do you enjoy doing outside of work that might surprise your colleagues?

I love watching anime. It’s one of my favorite pastimes, and I’ve watched it since I was in fourth grade. My favorite genre is shōnen, and my favorite older anime is Yu Yu Hakusho, but I also love Fairy Tail (I have a tattoo of the symbol on my arm), Death Note, and, more recently, Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment so far?

My greatest accomplishment is getting my mama to read my work. As part of my job, I write journal articles and books. Often, it’s difficult to get my family members to read my journal articles because, to be honest, they’re usually pretty boring. But, I’ve been transforming some of my research into science fiction stories, and that’s enabled my mom to enjoy the work a bit more. That is a huge accomplishment for me.

What do you do? 

I am the director of the Mannie L. Jackson Illinois Academic Enrichment and Leadership Program (I-LEAP). My team and I help student athletes, first-gen, URM, and EOP students in the College of Applied Health Sciences develop their leadership, academic and personal skills in order to navigate the University and attain their postgraduation goals. There’s a lot of programming, advocating, and educating in my role, but the most important aspect is building a community for my students. They know that they have peers and staff that are looking out for their success. I-LEAP has promoted the retention and graduation of participating students at a higher rate than their peers who do not.

What led you to this career? 

I decided to pursue a career in higher education after being a 6^th grade teacher for a year because I knew that the academic knowledge wouldn’t be the hardest part of college for my students. I wanted to help students like my 6^th graders make it through higher education. Last year was a full circle moment for me as two of my former 6^th grade students graduated from AHS in May 2024. 

Why are you involved with BFAPA?

I’m involved with BFAPA in order to connect with my peers and learn from their experiences on campus. There’s not as much diversity in my unit as I’d like, so I joined BFAPA to meet other professionals from other units. And honestly, in general, BFAPA are a fun group of people that I enjoy communing with.

What would you do if you had the whole day to do anything you wanted? I would take a day trip to a nearby city and just see somewhere new. I love trying out restaurants, so I would check out the local cuisine and some landmarks. 

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Black Faculty and Professionals Alliance thank everyone who could attend today’s State of Black Faculty and Staff event.

Also, BFAPA would like to thank Chancellor Jones for his remarks and Vice Chancellor Garrick for providing the demographics presentation and Q&A. For those who could join us, if you have photos you would like to share, add them to the existing shared folder on MS Teams. We will upload the presentation to the MS Teams space once it is provided.