As a scholar-activist, my approach to teaching attempts to ignite a critical consciousness in my students and cultivate strong intellectuals through research, theory, and praxis. I am a Black American woman with parents from a working-class background and one of few in my family to earn an advanced degree. Thus, I recognize how integral a diverse curriculum taught by faculty who served as dedicated mentors was to my development as a sociologist. I am committed to a transformative pedagogy that fosters intellectual growth and rigor, critical understanding of discourse, reflexivity in a stratified society, and public service toward social change among students of all educational backgrounds.