LLP Chats!

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.

Tales from a Successful Spooky Season

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.” 

LLP Does Community in October

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! 

Seeing Philosophy in a New Light

Lillian Rose

Enligtening Discussions with "COLA Teacher of the Year" Professor Kennedy  
By Lillian Rose
LLP Social Media Intern

Kennedy Award Interview

    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

 My "Uniquely Human" Interview with Prof. B. Kennedy

See you at the next LLP Event!

Meet the New Fall 2025 LLP Social Media Intern

English is Back!
By Lillian Rose

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.

Authorship and Ai: A Chat with Dr. Justin Whitney

By Dakota DiBenedetto
LLP Social Media Intern

Dr. Justin Whitney and Dakota DiBenedetto

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.

Dr. Whitney will teach a new LLP class this Fall: 

LLP Celebrates a Year of Success and Publications

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) 

Recognition of LLP Minors

• Anikwe, Frank - Excellence in Philosophy Studies 
• Simmons, Kara -  Excellence in Spanish Studies 
• Agoziri Mgbeke - Excellence in French Studies

LLP Leads Students through D&D Campaign

Community, Creativity and the Campaign!
By Dakota DiBenedetto
LLP Student Intern

Over the last year, the Departmnent of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy has led students on a fantastic quest.  Faculty adviser, Dr. Shane Gomes, initiated a Dungeons and Dragons campaign last Fall, and group has been campaigning ever since. 

Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D, is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game created and designed by Dave Gygax and Dave Arneson. A group of players tell a story, guiding players through dangerous quests such as exploring castles, defeating monsters, and discovering treasure. The popularized game has been seen on TV shows like Big Bang Theory, Stranger Things and Gravity Falls.

TSU Grad student Tarisha Moncrief is an ethusiastic D&D club member. Her alter, Mizuki, is "a sun elf

with beguiler as the race." The character specializes in manipulation, deception as the character is beautiful but not trustworthy.  Through Mizuki, and empowering imagination, Moncrief is able to explore a persona outside of her true character.  

In an interview, we spoke about the nature of D&D, how to play the game, the nerd stereotype, and the accuracy of depiction (or lack thereof) in entertainment. 

What does a typical Dungeons and Dragons game look like for the club?

 A typical campaign starts off with creating a character that classifies into race, class, and alignment. There are 9 alignments, 10 races, and 13 classes, says the 2024 update Players Handbook. Moncrief explains, “there are different types of campaigns you can go on single, multiplayer, hero, and villain quests, it all depends on what the group of players want to do.” The game master plans the campaign meaning they tell the story or journey that is taken.

What got you into playing Dungeons and Dragons?

 “I have always been interested in D&D." It all started with her interest in anime which was used as a branch that got her started in D&D later joining the club.

What is the longest Dungeons and Dragons campaign you have partook in?

 The longest campaign Moncrief has played was for six hours non-stop, although it can go longer. However, since the club meets from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. the maximum the club has played is two hours; they often have to stop and continue playing at the next meeting.

Have you been able to meet new people since joining the club?

 Majority of the people who play D&D are introverted, so this has helped people become more outspoken and come together. It is a good way to meet new people and interact with others that play the game. The game is relaxing and fun which is a good way to not be yourself during the game which is the point of the game.

Learn more about LLP's D&D campaign by reaching out to Faculty Adviser Dr. Shane Gomes.
Click here for "Full Interview with Tarisha Moncrief" 

LLP Creates More Opportunities for Student Publishing

Me with Dr. Emily Murray

A Conversation with Dr. Emily Murray
by Dakota DiBenedetto
LLP Social Intern

As an aspiring publisher, I decided to interview an LLP professor is advocating for more publishing opportunities in the classroom and department. . Becoming a publisher has been a dream of mine for a while. I am an avid reader of books, and I want to share the joy that I experience when reading.

Dr. Emily Murray, PhD is an Associate Professor of English and graduate of Cumberland University. While interviewing Dr. Emily Murray, I learned about what drives her passion, her plans for a student journal, and the pathways and skills needed to becoming a publisher. We also discussed how AI will may affect the publishing world.

Audio of the full interview is at the end; my favorite moments are sumarized below. 

What inspired you to pursue this career?

 There was a student literary journal made in the past called Sketches. The student journal was last published in Spring 2014. Dr. Murray decided to start it again, naming it Blue Ink; A English Literary Journal. The name came from her students in her Writing for Publications class, that she fundraised for. Dr. Murray said “I wanted to illuminate student voices and wanted to highlight how students feel, what they think about, what they are doing, and what matters to our students.” 

What are your hopes for the student literary journal?

Dr. Murray hopes that we can consistently publish a winter and summer edition of the journal highlighting student works of literature. The main struggle is maintaining that consistent engagement with the journal. The student literary journal will not only be open to English students but to every student on campus.

How do you see AI affecting publishing?

With AI being such a prominent use of technology today it is important to understand how this will affect the publishing world. Dr Murray said “I think AI has both a negative and positive impact. In my classes we engage with AI. It is a good place to get started to see what it shows us and how we could revise it to make it an authentic human voice.” 

What skills are essential to becoming a publisher?

 I was curious about the relationship between writing and research skills.. While both skills are essential, writing skills can always be developed, you can practice and get better. you will always have to edit and revise. Dr. Murray stated that “Nobody's first draft is perfect.”

 This was an eye-opening interview to hear from someone in the field I wish to work in. Make sure to be on the look-out to the student literary journal and its open submissions as the website will be coming soon.

 Check out the Full Interview Here:  My Conversationwith Dr. Murray

 

 

Meet the New LLP Social Media Intern: Dakota DiBenedetto

How I became an English Major
By Dakota DiBenedetto

DiBenedetto

 

 

 

Since I could remember I have loved reading and writing. However, majoring in English was not always my first choice as I thought all that could come from it was teaching or writing in newspapers. I was always a great writer, but I thought all that would come from it was becoming  a teacher if I became an English major.

Originally, I was a Biology major which was swiftly changed when I became a sophomore and I realized it was not the best for me. Since, changing my major to English I have been happier as it was something I knew I wanted to do.

Through research and the help of an informative poster beside an elevator, I was made aware of the many things I could do with my major and made the switch. Today, I am a junior English major with a business minor and the new Social Media Intern for the Language, Literature, and Philosophy Department at Tennessee State University.

As I start this journey, I am ecstatic about this new opportunity, as it allows me to dive deeper into what an English degree can offer. During this internship, I hope to attract more students to the LLP Department and what we offer. I hope to learn more about what being an English major has to offer and offer those same opportunities to others.