I came to teaching sideways. I went to Ohio State for criminology — I wanted to be a forensic scientist, raised on Law & Order. Then I took one African-American studies course and it rerouted my whole life. I realized I could use my voice to humanize the Black experience, and that the classroom was the stage I'd been looking for.

I can count the Black educators who taught me on one hand. Representation matters — and every kid is better for real cultural exchange with an adult who actually sees them.

My first years teaching, I held on too tight. I mistook control for management, and all it built was walls. A mentor finally told me to go watch my students where they came alive — at their games, their shows, in the hallway. So I did. I listened to how they talked, what they played, what they cared about. And I started teaching in that language. Learning got rich the second I stopped translating my world for them and started translating their world into the work.

That shift has a name now — Hip Hop Based Education. Back then it was just me, finally listening.