When I tell people I teach English at Prairie View A&M, they tend to respond in one of three ways: “Oh, I’m so sorry!” or “Where’s that?” or “That’s a…black school, right?” One gentleman even said, “Do they even speak English out there?” and then lectured me on why my school is an embarrassment to his people. I doubt he had ever met a PV student.
Misconceptions also circulate on the Hill. When I arrived on campus in 2002, I heard people say that anyone who took a job at PV, particularly a teaching job, couldn’t get a position anywhere else. Ouch.
Finding work as a college professor poses challenges. In most fields, several hundred applicants compete for one opening. It is even harder if you want to live in a particular city. To land a teaching position, the general wisdom says, you must be willing to move anywhere. I wasn’t willing. I wanted to be in Houston, a decision that caused most of my friends and mentors at the University of Texas to believe that I had lost my mind.
I viewed the matter differently, favoring quality of life. When I saw a job ad for Prairie View, I rejoiced. Granted, at the time everything I knew about PVAMU fit on a very short list: HBCU, good engineering and nursing programs, and source of floodlights I could see from Highway 290 at night. Yet my research about the university revealed an up-and-comer, strong in its sense of history and determined to keep pushing the standard of excellence. My PV interview, unlike others, left me feeling inspired. I wanted to work with students who come to college for more than partying on their parents’ dime. When one university offered me a job and another moved me to the final round of contenders, I called the Dean of Arts and Sciences and flat out told him I preferred to come to PV instead, if they would have me.
Far from being my only choice, therefore, Prairie View was my first choice. Going into my fourth year on the Hill, I like to think I’m contributing, making a difference, keeping most students awake in class, and teaching some valuable skills. Have I lost my mind? I hope not. I believe I’ve found a home.