My liberal arts story started in second grade, which is when I first learned to read. I had been more or less written off by my second grade teacher because I wasn’t working at grade level. Who would imagine that later in the story that second grader would earn a Ph.D. in literature—French Literature at that! 

By fourth grade, I was reading well beyond grade level and reading had opened the door to academic success. This set the stage for two realities in my education: 1) I had excellent teachers who fostered my love for language and literature 2) lamentably, I was often the only person of color in my classes, including teachers and students.

In seventh grade, I had the best Language Arts teacher ever.  Mrs. Bentzlin taught me about the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the impact of the French Language on the English Language.  Seventh grade was also the year I started taking French. Together, this foreshadowed my double major in French and English here at MTSU. As an MTSU undergraduate in the College of Liberal Arts, I was able to develop my love for language and literature.  Within those two majors I faced the same two realities that I did when I was younger: 1) I had excellent teachers who fostered my love for language and literature 2) lamentably, I was often the only person of color in my classes, including teachers and student. 

We are in a new chapter at MTSU CLA. While the College of Liberal Arts still bears the standard of teaching excellence, the landscape of the CLA has changed and continues to change.  It is more likely today than ever before to see diversity in the classroom, including teachers and students.  I am so grateful to be part of the change that I want to see. My students have had the opportunity to see a woman of color in the classroom and my personal background as a late academic bloomer helps me see students as individuals who may simply need an opportunity to discover their own liberal arts story.

My experiences as a woman of color and my training in language and literary analysis through a dual-language lens have given me a unique way to look at problems.  This is what I love about the Liberal Arts!  A liberal arts education promotes the critical gaze needed to approach problems from myriad perspectives and arrive at creative and innovative solutions that work. Whether in the classroom, as Director of the M.A. in Liberal Arts, and now as Dean in the College, my liberal arts education has prepared me to make an impact for the good of students, colleagues, and the institution.