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NSE Study Break: Alabama State faculty interview

Stories and Updates

Natasha:

Hello I'm Natasha Winston Clark and welcome back to our NSE study break. I'm here with Dr. L. Simone Byrd from Alabama State University. She's a Communications professor for Public Relations. Y'all know me, I'm a PR major. So, hey Dr. Byrd! Tell us about yourself, you know, like your major, what school you went to, what university you work at, what do you teach and how long have you been teaching?

Dr. Byrd:

Okay. That's a lot of questions rolled into one Natasha, but I'm good. I'm Dr. Byrd. Hey everybody. So I am a full professor at Alabama State University where I teach Public Relations, Social Media, and I also teach an entrepreneurship class in the department. And so I've been there for 12 years. I came to ASU right after I got my PhD from Howard University. And so that's just where I've been. And so just over the years been doing things, teaching students, taking students on different trips. Doing PRSSA doing all kinds of unique things around campus, bringing students to be a part of that and just really enjoy what I do.

Natasha:

Cool okay, where are you from?

Dr. Byrd:

Okay. So I am from Maryland. I'm from the middle between DC and Baltimore. It's a little tiny area. But it's called Severn. It's near Fort Meade, Maryland. And so that's where I'm from. And yeah, I'm way down in Alabama now. So it is what it is. But it's nice and cheap it's cost of living is really reasonable and there's no snow, so I can live with that.

Natasha:

We could all live with that, especially now.

Dr. Byrd:

Yes.

Natasha:

So let's roll into our NSE questions real quick. So.

Dr. Byrd:

Okay.

Natasha:

At ASU, have you ever heard of the National Student Exchange program?

Dr. Byrd:

I think I vaguely heard about it some years back, but was I really familiar with it before you came? No, I was not.

Natasha:

Whoa. Okay. Okay. So given that, you know, I'm a student from New York state who came down to exchange for the year, what was your experience teaching NSE students?

Dr. Byrd:

Well, it's just been this one experience so far, but, you know, I can say without a doubt, you know, in one word has been outstanding. You were a lot of fun to have in class. You, you brought a unique experience and as you know I got my masters from City University of New York. So, you know, we, you and I can talk about New York City and, you know, my experience when I was there as a much younger person, a long time ago. But um, still, we can reference some things that I can understand, you can talk to me about, you know, your home and I would know where certain things were. So that was fine. But I just think it was really good because it was the exposure and your experience that you brought to the students here. So that was one of the main things that I would say.

Natasha:

Oh, okay, okay! So speaking of the communications majors. Like how would the NSE program be beneficial to communication students?

Dr. Byrd:

I think it would be awesome if we had students at our university branch out as well. Um it was not NSE, but I was a part of something similar during my doctoral studies. The DC area has a consortium program among all the DC schools, universities and colleges, private and public. And so for example, at Howard, they had some classes that I was interested in, but they didn't offer. So I went over to the university of Maryland at College Park for one year kind of like you and I took those classes there. So I think the, so I say all that to say, I think these sort of experiences are really good because again, it brings exposure. It allows you to meet other people outside of what you're normally used to maybe being around. And I think it just gives you some cultural awareness that maybe you, you may not have had before. So I think those things are critical. And I just think exposure to things outside of what, you know your everyday activities are always good.

Natasha:

Okay. Okay. So why would you, oh, well, you kind of answered it too. Well. Why would you encourage students on exchange? Oh, actually no. Why would you encourage students on exchange to take one of your courses?

Dr. Byrd:

Well, I think one of the things that students, at least students have, you know, some have come and shared with me is they appreciate that I'm always trying to do something hands on. So for example, you know, I, don't just sort of talk about, okay, you know, here's, you know, and I'll just show you this, this is the textbook that we're using this semester. So I won't just pick like a theory out of this book. I'll actually, you know, say, Hey, learn about this concept, but Hey, here's a final project that I want you to do that you can pull from this to make, tell me what you would do in this scenario. So I might give them like a crisis communications scenario and I might say, tell me what you're going to do. And I said to use at least three concepts from the book. So that means that you learned about this from maybe taking a quiz. Maybe you're learning about the theory, the concept, but now you're actually applying it because those are the things that if you do decide to go out, whether to work or to grad school, you will need to know how to do. So I think when students see the method to my madness, they appreciate it.

Natasha:

What we doing? Okay, okay. So aside from coursework, what are some school traditions do you think NSE students should check out at Alabama State University?

Dr. Byrd:

Well, ASU you know, one of the things is we're HBCU historically black college and university. So there are definitely, you know, some of the social things we have, you know, Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, which are, you know, and they have those on PWI campuses also. But it's a little bit of a different experience, you know, when it's at an HBCU. They have different events on campus. You know, the football season is always an exciting time. I think a lot of people always look forward to that. You know, the classics, which really are fashion shows. I mean, I'm sort of pressed to find out how many people actually sit and watch the game versus, you know, go around, you know, socializing and interacting with people while the game is going on. And you might stop and look at the game to see the score, but it's really a social family reunion type thing. So I just think culturally you can walk away with, you know, if you were to come to ASU, you definitely hopefully bond with your professors. I mean, there are definitely some professors that are open to that. And I think that you get smaller class sizes at HBCU's. Not, and it's not just HBCU's are smaller, you know small liberal arts colleges and universities that are also very small as well. But we do boasts small student to teacher ratio, ratio, excuse me. And I think just like I said, just, just that interaction that you get, because I think a lot of people who desire to work at HBCU's like I did which, you know, this was my first choice when I came out of getting my doctorate is you, you want to mentor people, you actually have that built into your DNA because somebody did it for you. So I think that those are some things that you get, you know, from an Alabama State that you might not get somewhere else.

Natasha:

You know the HBCU was definitely fun. It was lifechanging.

Dr. Byrd:

It could be very different, but I think, like I said, I think we actually have something to offer, especially if you really want to learn about a specific culture that maybe you don't have much experience with. And you really want to know more than what you just see maybe in a museum or what you see on a, maybe a documentary or whatever. And I think right now with everything going on the time is really right to highlight these universities.

Natasha:

Um definitely like speaking on like, the student to teacher ratio, that's actually very important because especially going to an HBCU from PWI, it was easier to interact with all of you on the campus, especially like outside of campus. It was just walking distance wise. But I would definitely say at and HBCU it was very more field and hands on experience than textbook kind of work going on. So it was like, ayy

Dr. Byrd:

I mean, I never wanted to teach somewhere where I was - a student was a number. I didn't want to do that.

Natasha:

So what are your favorite school traditions?

Dr. Byrd:

Okay, so definitely football season. You know, that is just an exciting time to just see people you haven't seen in a long time. So I would say football season. What other traditions do we have? I always sort of look forward to the spring time when we kind of do connection day events for, you know, potential high school students. We do it every semester, but I really like the one in the spring because it's starting to get warm again. And, you know, the birds are chirping, the days are longer. So I really like that. But those are kind of two traditions I would say that I really, really enjoy.

Natasha:

Oh, definitely. One of my favorite traditions when I got onto ASU campus, it's the cafeteria on Wednesdays. Whenever I got there, I was like ahhhh, I like this!

Dr. Byrd:

Isn't Wednesdays that soul food on Wednesdays?

Natasha:

Yeah, yeah. So I just, like I said, you just sort of feel, you feel very welcomed and you just feel kind of at home, I will say.

Natasha:

Definitely, definitely. And you know, why come back to your alma mater to teach?

Dr. Byrd:

Well, you know, it's not for not having other offers. I did. But I think when it, it, it really boiled down to, and I will be very candid and share this, the chair of the department at the time when I was a student, was someone I got taught PR. So when I graduated, I stayed in touch. I nurtured that relationship, right? And so he sort of stayed in touch with me through my master's. And then when I went to get a PhD. So, you know, and when the time came to apply for jobs, you say, you know, I told you that if you ever wanted to come back, I have a job for you. And I was like, Oh yeah, whatever. I don't want to come back to Alabama. I'm not an Alabama person. Or, you know, I'm not from here. But I think when I started doing interviews and I had some great interviews and I got some good offers from some other places. But I think when you had just gone through the experience of getting a doctorate, which is not easy, I think I knew I wanted to go someplace that I didn't have, that I had a connection to. I didn't want to go someplace that was brand new, where I didn't know anybody. I think that that really weighed on me. So when I looked through all my offers, I chose this one for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I knew I was going to have a supportive supervisor. I knew those things coming into it. So it just, it, it was just so much more easy to say yes to ASU for so many reasons. I had friends that were back working at the university, so it was just like, Oh, this is like going to my second home. Okay. No problem.

Natasha:

Okay!

Dr. Byrd:

Yeah. So I don't really, I don't regret it. You know, I don't regret it at all. And it's been, and I've had some great students in the, in the years I've been here. And I keep in touch with so many of them. And it's, it's just nice to have that kind of bond. And again, I don't think that I really would have had that or been able to build that at a school where maybe I was teaching a class of a hundred students.

Natasha:

Well, speaking on like students, how do you adapt to the new sense of like faces, personalities, you know, students every year actually?

Dr. Byrd:

Well, in our program sort of, as you kind of know we're, we're a smaller program. So you might have, let's say there's like four PR classes. Well, the same person might teach three of them. So you get to know students really quickly. The first thing, the first class, you get to know them quickly, but you also get to, you know, really get to know them as they come back several times. So that part doesn't really bother me. It's, it's just when maybe I have a student for one class and I just never see them again, but I understand why maybe they might be in a different concentration just taking my class for a requirement. But with the PR students, I'm usually able to, I don't really run into those problems because I'm going to be seeing them often, whether it's for class or advising or a student run organization.

Natasha:

Okay. And, you know, and to wrap up, what advice would you give NSE students coming to ASU?

Dr. Byrd:

Find somebody, you know, a professor, I would say find a couple of different people, but one in each group. So find a professor that you can bond with that will sort of take you under their wing, kind of like how we did. And I don't even think it was purposeful. We didn't really plan that. It just kind of organically happened because, you know, I had talked to you about an opportunity and you just jumped on it and you did such a great job and we just clicked. So that was when I said, okay, I can ask her to work with me on more stuff. So, you know, you know, all this stuff you've helped me with. Research. You've been my little research assistant on working on some things like that. So, you know, you've worked on flyers, you don't some creative things. So I think first of all my advice to a student with NSE, find a professor that you can bond with. Like I said, that will take you under their wing. Find another student, preferably one that's further along than you that you feel like you respect. That you know, they're on the same page with you as far as your work ethic. Find that student and sort of use them as a peer guide. Uh and I would say just immerse yourself in everything that, that school has to offer. You know, be positive. There may be some negative things that you experience, but try to focus on the things that are really going well. Because let's say you have a snag with the financial aid office. Well, the professor you bonded with, and that has taken you under their wing, you know, that can overshadow negativity. So I would say, I would say, like I said, try those tactics. And like I said, just be open. Be open to embracing all the experience. Because you're going to have some ebbs and flows in this process.

Natasha:

Very much like as an NSE student coming into ASU, I had to catch myself the first week. And I was like, okay, this is not my school. And once I noticed I started comparing, I was like, we gotta stop doing this because if I don't stop doing this, then I'm not going to have a good time. And I'm here for a year, so I have to switch it. So once I switched and became more open to like ASU campus traditions and how it worked, I was like, it's not bad. It's got some downs, it's got some ups.

Dr. Byrd:

And it's apples to oranges, you know? HBCU's are different. They don't always get the same funding that other schools get. So there are challenges there. But I think one of the things that you will hear people say about HBCU's in general, not just ASU, is you can find people who really, really care and that's, you'll find those really, really committed individuals. And you just have to find them. And like I said, we try to turn those negatives into positives. So, you know, that's what we want. People who will come into this program. We want them to have that kind of last, you know, long lasting experience. And also the final thing I would say is when you leave the program, when you go back to your home institution share your story. You know, share your story with your classmates. That can be a huge help into influencing them to join an NSE and stay in touch with the people that you left. Because for a lot of us, it's not just, well, okay, you were here for a year. Okay. See you later and never talk to you again. I'm like, no, I feel like I made a friend. So, you know, stay involved, stay in touch.

Natasha:

Definitely. You know I will.

Dr. Byrd:

Well I know we will. I'm not even worried about that. I just, you know, I'm saying for someone who maybe just comes and they're just there and they're, they're soaking it up and then they leave, but they don't maintain that bond.

Natasha:

Definitely. Definitely. And you know, my last question to wrap up with you is what advice would you give ASU students wanting to exchange to other schools?

Dr. Byrd:

First of all, I say, do it. You have, you're in a really amazing time in your life as a young person. So this is the time to do those things and explore those things. So number one do apply and do it. If you're afraid because maybe, you know, you'll be around a culture you're not familiar with, or I don't care do it in fear because that's how you grow. Again. The same advice that I give students coming that would be coming through the NSE to us. Be open. You know, make friends, you know. And I definitely think that if we don't have a big international student population here at ASU as do some other schools, but definitely meet and greet and get involved with international students at some of the larger schools that you may do the NSE to, because that can really broaden your global perspective. And that's important too, because the U.S. Is just one country in a big wide world. So you need that exposure. And again, the bonds make sure that you maintain those bonds because you don't know where those relationships will grow into.

Natasha:

Definitely, definitely, especially like going to ASU and realizing how small the international population was. I was like, wha-a-a-t. Because I came from a school where like our international population is really big to the point where we had actual clubs like a Caribbean club, a African club. I was like, I came in and I was like, where the population at?

Dr. Byrd:

And you're from a city that's very diverse and international. So, and, and I come from an area where it's very diverse and lots of different nationalities, ethnicities, et cetera. So, yeah, but that's, but that's how you get, that's how you grow. That's how you evolve as a person is just being, getting exposure. That's the most important thing.

Natasha:

Well thank you Dr. Byrd for all of your answers. They were awesome. They were great. I'm happy to have you!

Dr. Byrd:

Thank you for asking me to interview. I appreciate it! This was cool.



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