Describe your current role.
I serve as the Dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and I am an Associate Professor of English and African American Studies. I am also the pastor of First United MB Church in Batesville, MS and Alvis Grove MB Church in Oakland.
How did you know this was your passion?
I have always had a passion for education. When most children were playing outside in my neighborhood, I was playing teacher. I used to love it when my teachers would give me their extra worksheets at the end of the year, so I could use them for playing in the summer. I also started teaching Sunday School and working in the church as a young person. By the time I was in pre-teen, I was teaching classes at church and speaking on church programs.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was to never drop the glass balls. A mentor told me that everyone drops balls, but most of them bounce back and you get another chance. If you drop the glass ball, it shatters and you can’t put it together again. I decided that my glass balls were my faith, my family, and my friends. If I get those things right, I am empowered to do everything else in my life with excellence.
What has been your best career moment?
Every day that I wake up to do work to help empower someone else, I am living my best career moment. As an educator, being named dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College has been the highest moment. I love the way we are able to support students who want to make a positive difference in the world.
What is your hometown?
Memphis, TN
What are your hobbies?
I really love to spend time reading, walking alone, or hanging out with my family. Those interests take up so much of my time that I don’t have space for creative hobbies. My work and my family get most of my “awake” time.
What is your go-to binge-watch?
I don’t binge-watch any television shows, because I think it is too time-consuming. If I had to choose a show, I would probably choose to watch Abbott Elementary. I love hearing my daughters discuss their takeaways from the show and it seems like a show that would make me laugh and think deeply.
What is your last good read?
My most recent great reads are American Family by Tayari Jones, Before the Street Lights Come On, by Heather McTeer Toney, and Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson. They all mean something different to me and they are all great in different ways.
What is your favorite meal in Oxford?
I would have to say it is a tie between lunch at Little Easy’s and dinner at Taylor Grocery. I do not miss an opportunity to spend the weekend hanging out with my friends in Taylor. They know me by name and I know their menu “by heart.”
