Chapter 8: Faith, Hard Work, and Persistence: How a Child Who Grew Up on Welfare Became an Endowed Professor

When I was a little girl, in the storefront Pentecostal churches that I attended, we often sang, “We have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.” At the time, I had no idea that the messages contained in this old gospel song would become my life’s theme. Today, as I reflect on my life from the vantage point of my current position as an endowed professor of education, it would be easy for me to say that my intelligence and hard work are the only reasons why I have attained this impressive goal. I could also argue that my extensive publication record is the sole reason. Furthermore, I could maintain that the numerous keynote addresses that I have given, the parent empowerment presentations and professional development workshops for educators that I’ve conducted, the media interviews that I’ve given, and awards that I’ve won are responsible. I could also insist that my experiences as a faculty member at six higher education institutions—both public and private—resulted in my current position. However, although each of these statements is true, there’s a lot more to my story. In a nutshell, the truth is that whereas hard work and persistence have contributed to my success, my faith in God has played an even greater role. Therefore, in this chapter, as I (a) describe my personal journey to the endowed professorship; (b) explain important life lessons that I’ve learned during my journey; (c) describe my current professional goals; and (d) offer suggestions and recommendations for graduate students, untenured faculty, tenured faculty, and college/university administrators, my underlying belief that “God is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all that [I] can ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, The Official King James Bible Online), will keep emerging as my life’s mantra.