Service to Mentorship

Mentorship is central to my service as a faculty member and reflects my belief that academic leadership must extend beyond research and teaching to support the development of future educators and scholars. My mentoring is grounded in a justice-centered and relational ethic, ensuring that students and colleagues—especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds—are supported in ways that affirm their identities, cultivate their strengths, and prepare them for leadership.

Graduate and Teacher Candidate Mentorship

Within the Division of Education and Counseling, I have mentored more than 17 graduate-level teacher candidates through capstone internships (EDST 5372A and EDST 5327B). This work includes collaborating with local school leaders to design placements, evaluating field performance, and providing licensure-aligned supervision. By linking academic coursework with real-world practice, I help teacher candidates develop into justice-minded, community-engaged educators prepared to serve diverse student populations.

Doctoral Student Mentorship

I also mentor doctoral scholars, many of whom I guide through dissertation, publication, and professional development. Notably, I co-authored the article Silencing Wingless Truth with one of Xavier’s doctoral students, Gerald Smith II, which was published in the AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom. This collaboration exemplifies how mentorship can translate into scholarly contribution, expanding students’ opportunities to shape national conversations on race, disability, and academic freedom.

In addition to my supervision of graduate-level teacher candidates, I have co-designed academic writing supports such as the Graduate Writing Boot Camp (2019), which provided targeted workshops to help graduate and doctoral students strengthen their scholarly writing and successfully progress through their thesis and dissertation projects.

Future Directions

Looking ahead, I plan to deepen my mentorship service by expanding faculty peer-mentoring networks within Xavier, organizing writing workshops for graduate/doctoral students, and creating structured opportunities for graduate students to engage in public scholarship. These initiatives will not only strengthen individual professional trajectories but also advance Xavier University of Louisiana’s mission of promoting a more just and humane society by cultivating the next generation of equity-driven educators and scholars.