Fall Graduate Chandler Smith Reflects on Summer Internship and Future Plans
By Lillian Rose LLP Social Media Intern
In the LLP department, we come across many students who want to pursue careers as educators who serve their students. Yet, many may not know the opportunities that come with pursuing this profession.
English major, Chandler Smith, was awarded two opportunities to strengthen his skills as both a future educator and a researcher. Over the summer of 2025, Smith interned under the South Memphis Stories Project with Rhodes College.
Under the leadership of Dr. Charity Clay, he collaborated with students from Morehouse College, Hampton University, and Xavier University to research industrialization. With this new information, he learned how it affects people in the South Memphis area.
After finishing his summer internship, Smith is now looking forward to starting his Master’s program next Fall. Under this program he hopes to advance the knowledge he learned in LLP.
For now, Smith advises students with a few tips to guarantee success in their paths to be the next generation’s future educators:
1.Apply, reach out, and make sure to put yourself out there
2.Build your resume with intention
3.Take steps to build connections with other people
4.Practice being a good student
Applying these steps little by little encourages LLP students to be the best in everything they do and become the best to achieve all their aspirations.
LLP hosts Sinners screening & Day of the Dead event
By Lillian Rose LLP Social Media Intern
October is unabashedly the spooky season filled with Halloween movies, candy, and costumes. In the Languages, Literature and Philosophy department, we did our part by sharing good reads, movies and cultural events in the TSU community.
Robinson on Sinners Panel
Last month, the LLP department hosted a special screening and academic discussion of Sinners. Students were able to learn about the cultural significance that applies to the movie such as Hoodoo studies and cultural resilience.
“The Sinners screening was a great opportunity for students to not only see one of the best films of the year for free on campus, but also a chance to engage with it critically," said student panelist Alexandria Robinson. "I saw some students at the screening excited about being able to get their thoughts out about the film with others, and I think that’s who this is for at the end of the day. I hope this opens the door for more screenings to happen so students can be exposed to a diverse range of media and have the outlet to express their thoughts and gain new perspectives.
Being able to engage critically with media provides students with a new space for discussion that exposes minds to new ideas about how African American culture plays an integral role in the production of cinema.
In other LLP news this month, Langauge professors hosted a Day of the Dead event to teach students about the holiday’s significance in Latin American culture.
Masala-Martinez
Day of the Dead, also known as Dia de los Muertos is a Latin American holiday that is celebrated on November 1st and November 2nd. Celebrated as a day of remembrance, the first day is to remember the lives of the children. The second day is to remember the lives of the adults that have transitioned.
“My favorite part of the event was seeing students come together to learn about a tradition that beautifully celebrates life, memory, and community," said Dr. Francesco Masala-Martinez, Spanish Professor and event organizer.
Throughout the event, students learned about this holiday in unique ways with a Kahoot game, a slideshow, and a video that went in-depth about the importance of celebrating the lives of family members, rather than mourning them.
Masala expressed his connection to the holiday by showing students an ofrenda with pictures of his father and cat, their favorite treats, and marigolds to attract and guide their spirits. Learning about these components provided students a new way to connect to family members as a source of celebration, rather than grief.
"I hoped that students would understand that Dia de los Muertos is not only about remembrance but also connection between generations, cultures, and shared human experiences of love and loss.”
VIP Advisement Socials, Alumni Conversation, and so much more...
By Lillian Rose
LLP Social Media Intern
With
the semester coming to a close, it is time to start planning for the Spring
2026 semester. This means check-ins with advisors to discuss classes, academic
goals, and career planning.
But what if students do not know their advisors? What if students do not
know which classes to sign up for? The Language, Literature, and Philosophy
department has answers for them.
Murray
Last week, LLP held an Advisement Meet & Greet for English majors
and minors as hosted by Dr. Rebecca Dixon. During this event students were able
to engage with other professors and advisors such as Dr. Michelle Pinkard, Dr.
Emily Murray, Dr. Lucas Powers, Dr. Michelle Wise, and Dr. Chris Fields to
discuss the advising process.
“The LLP advising event on Friday was a wonderful success!” Murray said.
“Because LLP strives to support and advise students not only in their academic
pursuits but also career and life pursuits, this event allowed us to meet
majors and minors, learn about student goals and aspirations and have fun!”
Students received tips on navigating EAB, the university website, and
the advisement process. We chatted over lunch and played a Black
Trivia History game in which I served as the devastatingly talented host!
Students went against faculty in the categories of entertainment, inventions,
history, and civil rights figures. In the end, the students overwhelmingly beat
the professors proving that our generation knows their history!
Murray summarized the event as another way to solidify the partnership
between LLP faculty and students. “The meeting was informative for
practical advising purposes, but I enjoyed most the less formal atmosphere for
advising and getting to meet advisees in person, playing trivia and building a
sense of community in the department. I look forward to losing more trivia
games to these students in the future!”
Me and Heard after our Trivia Win!
There
are faculty murmurs of a rematch. Jasmine Heard, English minor, will
be ready. She said, “this event gave me the insight I needed to talk to
advisors about my future career plans in English and beating the faculty in the
trivia game was the cherry on top!”
In
other LLP News this month, the department hosted an alumni conversation
with key speaker, Ms. Chandler Wilson, a 2018 graduate student of Tennessee
State University and English major. She is now a ninth grade English educator
who ranks #5 as a master teacher in the state for English I teachers.
Dr. Zeba Shahbazz moderated, but other professors in attendance explored
how learning from their students is just as important as teaching students.
Students are encouraged to archive their work and to use it as source material
to track progress through matriculation and transition into the professional
world.
Near the end of the conversation, Ms. Chandler Wilson provided special
advice for those who are pursuing a career in the field of teaching English:
1. Use
your voice as much as possible. 2.
Get the most information that you possibly can.
3. Be as knowledgeable as you possibly can on the content.
Watch the entire video below. Students should use this advice
to be the best English educator that you can be.
Looking forward to seeing you at the next LLP event!
I recently got the chance to interview Professor Babydoll Kennedy about being declared a Teacher of the Year Award by the College of Liberal Arts. While
my main purpose was to understand what this award means to her, we started to
discuss her greater purpose: what it means for her to teach in the world of
philosophy. For her, an individual understanding that they can stand firm in
their beliefs by using evidence and opening their mind to take in another
person’s perspective is a priority that she incorporates into her everyday
lessons. She implements these strategies because she understands it is a rare
occurrence in today’s world to use your own thinking to explain why or why
something is not correct in society when opposing sides say something different. Accordingly, Prof. Kennedy provides her students with open discussion
to explain their rationale, which in turn, helps her learn something new from
her students. As a political science major and English minor, it was enlightening to hear from a
professor who teaches her students to be critical, but still be open to other
people’s perspectives. As we
got deeper into the interview, Prof. Kennedy says, “be able to articulate
my side before you start trying to dismantle my argument. If you can’t
reconstruct it, you can’t deconstruct it.” From this, I learned that there is
an importance to hearing someone out, before trying to tear down their
viewpoints. I understood that I could stand firm in my
viewpoints without being overly defensive toward others. Ultimately, it is okay to
hear someone out without feeling that they are coming for you personally. When the interview concluded, I had a new understanding of what it
means to dive into the world of philosophy in order to become a rational
thinker and an evolving student. I was able to understand
Professor Kennedy’s way of engaging with her students, as well as how much she
pours into her students, so they can become well-rounded thinkers.
Click the image below to Enjoy the full interview below
Lillian Rose Political Science Major English Minor
English
has played an integral role in my life since I was a child. During my youth, my
mom would buy books in various genres for me to read and assign me to write
book reports on them to advance my writing and reading comprehension skills. As
a teacher herself, she understood how important it was for a child to be able
to read. Being introduced to these books sparked my interest in buying physical
copies of books and reading them for simply, my pure enjoyment.
Taking
this passion with me to college allowed me to make the decision of becoming an
English minor. With classes such as Creative Writing Poetry and Adolescent
Literature, the doors opened for me to tap into my creativity, as well as
affirming my decision that I do want to take my passion and teach children all
the joys of English.
As
the new Language, Literature, and Philosophy social media intern for the
English Department, I firmly believe I can expand my skillset to learning all
the ins and outs of what English can do for me in my future career as an
attorney and as a teacher. For now, my goal as the LLP social media intern is
to take the English Department to new heights by consistently covering their
live events and spreading information about them to the student body.
During
this internship, I am excited for all the new opportunities I will be able to
learn about. Also, I am positive that by working with the faculty of this
department, I can attract students to be a part of what the English Department
has to offer, which can impact them for life.
Over the past few years, A.I. or artificial intelligence, has become an up and coming tool used by many students all over the world. Dr. Justin Whitney, an assistant professor in the Languages, Literature, and Philosophy Department, held a zoom seminar titled “A.I. Writing and Online Education Summit.”
A.I. or artificial intelligence is software programs that focus on performing tasks that require human intelligence such as problem-solving, reasoning, and learning. A.I. is about teaching machines or computers to mimic how humans think and learn. Normally, this involves several techniques that include algorithms and systems to analyze data that spits out patterns.
Dr. Whitney is well versed in A.I. and had more to say in our interview. We spoke of A.I. and its relationship to authenticity, misinformation, and misuse.
What is A.I. or artificial intelligence?
Dr. Whitney explains that artificial intelligence today is two things: a large language and a natural language model. It is a statistical analysis that analyzes what should be next through statistics. The first artificial intelligence was created in 1956 and was a government sponsored program.
How do you ensure A.I. remains ethical and accurate?
During our conversation Dr. Whitney compared remixing music to editing A.I. and asked the question of whether you still deserve the credit as much. I shared with him how in a class I once was instructed to use A.I as a reference: he believed that is a good way because it can be used as a research tool, however, students should be careful because A.I. can contain misinformation.
How are you integrating A.I. into teaching or the research process?
“A metaphor I use in class is if I use a laser pointer and move it an inch it makes a big difference and that's how A.I. is.” He explained, students should use it at the very beginning and the end as a part of help with outlining then write the paper yourself to remain having author ownership.
Do you see A.I. as a threat long term to those students going into the professional world?
“It would integrate itself into our lives and eventually our computers.” He compared it to a Black Mirror episode of what life could possibly be eventually if AI consumes us. Ultimately, what it takes to get a job or an A letter grade will be harder.
Awards, Exhibits, and Graduating Seniors By Dakota DiBenedetto LLP Social Media Intern
To cap off a successful year, the Languages, Literature, and Philosophy Department hosted an End of the Year Celebration. Many students were awarded certificates for
their achievements over the year. The department launched two publications, starting what will become an annual tradition of spotlighting student writing:
Tigritude: A
Journal of Student Writing, highlighting the best student writing in LLP
classrooms and
Blue Ink: A Literary Arts Journal, the first volume of a new and
annual publication.
A great Wole Soyinka quote was used in the journal
Tigritude stating how a tiger demonstrates its power through action symbolizing
the student's literature exhibiting power through words:
“A tiger does not
proclaim his tigritude, he ounces. In other words: a tiger does not stand in
the forest and say: “I am a tiger”. When you pass where the tiger has walked
before, you see the skeleton of the duiker, you know that some tigritude has
been emanated there.” - Wole Soyinka
Both of these journals feature LLP student writing and artwork by
TSU art students. This celebration was held in The Space for New Media room in Elliot Hall, a black box theatre with the works of LLP poets and art students on the walls.
Awards were given to students for different accomplishments like most improved, rising star, academic achievement, and more.
Accolades were also given to students graduating this spring. Professors
like Dr. Zeba Shabhaaz, Dr. Heidi Williams, and Prof. Rebecca Bornac were also awarded with memorabilia for their hard
work and committment to go above and beyond.
The whole program concluded with LLP's Soul Fire Poetry group performing poems from their upcoming "200 Unacceptable Words" collection. They also gave out copies of a gorgeous Soul Fire Women's History Insert.
This was a great way to end the year for the
LLP Department while also highlighting the two new student publications. This gives students the chance to become
published before leaving campus, which is a great opportunity for those
looking to join the publication world. Personally, I look forward to seeing more of
what LLP will do in the future.
The Following Students Were Honored at this Year's
Celebration:
Blakemore, Nickcolus - Excellence in Creative Writing
Award (Fall 2024 Graduate)
Boykin, Ahlillian - Rising Star Educator (Class of 2026)
Childress, Caleahs - Outstanding Student Employee
Cole, Amiya - Promising Young Educator (Spring
2025 Graduate)
DeBardelaben, Evan - Aspiring Author Award I
for Demonstrated Excellence in Creative Writing (Fall 2024
Graduate)
Jackson, Madelyn - Rising Star Educator Award
Mathis, Aniyha - Excellence in Civic Engagement (Spring
2025 Graduate)
McGuire, Brianna - Academic Achievement
Award (Spring 2025 Graduate)
Rainer, Destini - Career Exploration and Innovation
Award (Spring 2025 Graduate)
Stone, Eleana - Promising Young Educator (Fall 2024
Graduate)
Sutton, KenDasha - Most Improved Student (Spring
2025 Graduate)
Smith, Chandler - Career Exploration and Innovation
Award (Class of 2026)
Watkins, Jasmine - Rising Star Educator Award
Wilson, Chandler - Outstanding LLP Alumni Award (Class
of 2018)
Wilson-Richardson, Tori - Excellence in Professional
Writing (Spring 2025 Graduate)
