Her Story
About Dr.
I have been working in higher education since 1995, and I currently serve as an associate professor of economics and faculty liaison for Project Elevate at Howard Community College, a position I've held since 2021. Before joining Howard Community College, I was a professor of economics at Northern Virginia Community College from 2011 until 2021, where I worked part-time. Prior to that, I was an associate professor of economics at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas from 2002. My main areas of expertise today are economics and higher education leadership. One of my most notable professional achievements was serving as a discussion leader at the Oxford Roundtable about the World Economic Crisis in 2010. I'm passionate about working with system-impacted individuals and returning citizens. I teach at prison sometimes and am involved with organizations like the Maryland Reentry Resource Center and Maryland New Directions. I'm also working to get one of my family members who has been incarcerated since 1986 released. My work is deeply influenced by my family background - my mother is a retired teacher, my father was a deceased professor, my stepfather was an entrepreneur, and my grandmother was a home economics teacher. I also had a great mentor who was the former chancellor of the University of Houston system, who passed about a year ago.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dr.
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my family. My mother is a retired teacher, my father is a deceased professor, my stepfather was an entrepreneur, and my grandmother was a home economics teacher. I also had a great mentor who was the former chancellor of the University of Houston system. He just passed about a year ago, but he was instrumental in my journey. I thank God for sure, because He put all those people in my life.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I always tell people, only pursue a doctorate if you really want it, but it's changed so much now with AI that I don't remember if it's as rigorous as it once was. I always tell my students to find a good mentor and to do as many internships as possible. If you're earning a doctorate, be clear about what you want to research from the beginning, if possible, and just look for opportunities to learn more about that. Always be ready to change, because there's a lot of change going on throughout the world, even in higher education. Be technologically efficient and always be willing to learn new technologies, as well as how to teach students.
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