The Same Door

Today is my birthday. Tomorrow, I begin a new chapter.

On August 10, 2026, I will begin serving as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Winston-Salem State University. For me, this is more than a new position. It is the continuation of a journey that began 33 years ago in a department that helped shape so much of who I am today.

In 2017, I was walking through the hallway headed to instruct a class that had been my first opportunity to serve as an instructor at WSSU. One of my students in that course, Awa, called me into the office of a longtime faculty member. In front of both of us, Awa said she thought I should teach more courses, because she had learned so much from me while in my class.

For a moment, I was incredibly proud.

I had not received much direct feedback from students at that point, and hearing her say that in front of a faculty member in the department made it even more meaningful. That feeling did not last long.

The faculty member responded, "It's unfortunate, but he can't teach more courses because he doesn't have the credentials."

The comment stung. At the time, I had more than 25 years of professional experience in the very field I was teaching. My response was simple: "It's a shame that having worked for more than 25 years in the field isn't considered enough of a credential." Her reply was equally simple, but deliberately cutting with a sarcastic tone: "Yes, it is a shame."

That conversation lingered in my mind for quite a while, so much so that I printed her words and hung them on the wall of my office. Eventually, they became the fuel that helped push me to earn my Master's in Educational Media and New Media Literacies.

Then I returned to the department as an adjunct faculty member.

Instructing one course per semester eventually became two. For 3 years, I found myself teaching Monday through Thursday while continuing to work full time in the university marketing department. It was demanding, but it also confirmed something I had begun to understand. Teaching was not simply something I could do. It was something I was supposed to do.

Then came the opportunity to become a full-time faculty member in the department. Yep, the same department that I began in as a student 33 years ago. A new opportunity to pour into WSSU students even more, just as so many people poured into me years ago.

This is one of the greatest honors of my professional career.

Perhaps the most fitting part of this story is where I am sitting as I write it. I am in the same office where, years ago, I heard that I did not have the credentials to teach more courses. Tomorrow, I begin my new role as a full-time faculty member.

I will walk through the same door, but now the key belongs to me.