About

I am currently a professor at Temple University in the Department of Sport and Recreation Management; however, my journey began in the great state of Texas. I was raised in Big Sandy, TX and later ventured to central Texas to attend the University of Texas at Austin (UT). While at UT, I earned my BS in Corporate Communications with a Business Foundations certificate. During my time as an undergraduate student, I embarked on two study abroad trips, one to Barcelona, Spain and the other to Cape Town, South Africa (these two trips are the reason why I love to travel). Also during this time, I began working with UT football, which gave me a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most successful athletic departments in all of college sports.  

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I then decided to stay home at UT to begin my graduate school journey. It was also in my pursuit to obtain my MS in Sport Management, where I was introduced to research. My experiences within college athletics guided the questions that I wanted to investigate. My time ended at UT after completing a thesis entitled Phenomenological Study on the Racialized Experiences of African American Assistant Collegiate Football Coaches. 

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My next step was to the Midwest to attend The Ohio State University where I am completed my PhD in Higher Education and Student Affairs. My research foci were still within the realm of sport; however, I focused my doctoral research to center Black male student-athletes. I was particularly interested in furthering our understandings of identity within Black male college athletes. This goal manifested with my dissertation research entitled Playing While Black: Self-Presentation and the Black Male Collegiate Student-Athlete. 

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To capture my overall research agenda, I would describe it as investigating the intersection of race, sport, and education. Within that agenda, I focus primarily on Black male college athletes, Black coaches, and racial diversity within college athletics.