Major:
Ph.D. Communication
Year Graduated:
1995
Hometown:
College Park, GA
Current City:
Baton Rouge, LA
Current Employer:
Douglas I. Manship – Dori Maynard Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy at LSU
Top played song on your playlist?:
“Damage” by H. E. R.
Where has your CI degree taken you?:
My CI degree has led to employment at three Research I institutions.
What is your favorite thing about your job?:
I enjoy the freedom of exploring the taboo topic of race through teaching and research. Teaching provides a space dedicated to these discussions and facilitates learning for my students and me. There is a give and take. Research affords me the intellectual space to delve into the pervasiveness of racism within relationships, film and higher education.
What¹s the most valuable thing you learned in CI?:
My experience was a little bit unique in that, back then, the doctoral program was only three years, and now a lot of universities have shifted to a four-year model. At the end of my second year, my advisor took a position at another institution, which meant she was still my advisor, but I had to figure out how the doctoral process works in a very different and unique way. As a graduate student, you don't really know how to navigate professor-instructor relationships. They're unique, but at the same time, they're somewhat similar in terms of general rules that you follow. The dissertation process was very difficult for me at the time because my advisor had gone to another university, but back then we didn't have social media, and email was antiquated. Technology was a hindrance. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is that it is okay to reach out to committee members for assistance and guidance, because I was pretty much in it alone. I didn't know I could depend on my committee without being seen as being dependent. They told me, "You could come and talk to us,” but I didn't know that because I didn't have anyone there to tell me that. My advisor helped me to understand what mentoring should look like. Since then, I have gained a passion for understanding mentorship and developing a mentoring model. I recently brought an article on advocate mentoring where I talk about the importance of people using their power and their influence for the betterment of the spaces they occupy. That will ultimately benefit marginalized students because they don't always have advocates, and we should be willing to use our power in that way.
What advice would you give to current CI students?:
I would advise current students to not be afraid to ask questions and reach out to faculty or other committee members. If they feel like they're lost, we are there to help them along their journey, and sometimes I feel like they don't feel they can do that for various reasons. But that's why we're here. By extension, I would also encourage students to integrate thankfulness into their journey on a regular basis. Thank your faculty for the different things that they do for you. If they reach out to say hello or offer you some kind of emotional or professional support, thank them for that, acknowledge the work that people do. We are in a field like many others where we do a lot of invisible labor. It’s not that we're doing it for ego, but we do a lot of things to support our students, advance them, and help them along in their journey. It can be tiresome if you are doing this on a regular basis, but students don't say thank you. I have seen my colleagues and I bend over backwards for students, and sometimes the students may not be aware of the extent to which the person has helped them. But it's more disappointing when the student knows this person did that for them, and they never say thank you. "Thank you” can go a long way. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and asking for help when you need it is a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness. I would also encourage students to pursue their interests because it's your life in the end. You're a blip on our radar, but in the end that blip is a very important part of your life, so find out what your passion is and then figure out a way to explore it through your professional projects, your research and your courses.