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As a college student, I never imagined I would become a teacher. From my late teens, I felt a calling to serve and positively impact my city. The people, the institutions, and the culture of the City of New Orleans had given me so much. I wanted to give back. In my early 20s, teaching middle and high school students was about the last thing I thought I would do as a vocation. But my mom saw something in me that she thought would be wonderful in a classroom with students. I am grateful for her vision.

My first opportunity to teach was in the New Orleans Public Schools, at Booker T. Washington High School, my father’s alma mater. As a young teacher, I believed deeply in the potential of every student. In New Orleans, as in most American urban centers, the quality of educational opportunities available to students largely depended on their parents’ income and their ZIP code. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students who needed a great teacher the most. Booker T. Washington gave me that opportunity.

As I began teaching, I most certainly was not a great teacher, but I was committed to becoming one. A combination of graduate coursework, supportive professors, and mentoring from seasoned colleagues who became lifelong friends helped me become a relatively effective educator within a few years. I was wholly committed to the success and well-being of my students. While the places I have served and the positions I have held have changed over the years, my commitment to students’ success has never changed.

I was an educator for a little over a decade before becoming a father. Fatherhood did not make me a more committed or effective educator, but it did broaden my perspective. As a dad, I saw my students not only as pupils but as their parents’ children. As a dad, I came to understand parents’ hopes and dreams for their children in a new way. I have also come to understand firsthand the degree of trust parents place in educators and schools. My parental perspective has not made me a better education leader, but it has shaped my leadership. My leadership at Houghton is informed by my training and professional experience, but it is also shaped by my experience as a dad.

While students are typically central in deciding which college to attend, many Houghton students have included their parents and families in their decision-making process. It is also not uncommon for Houghton parents to engage in the life of the university. I have been blessed by relationships with many of those Houghton parents and grandparents over the years. In getting to know them, I find that as they send their young adults to Houghton as undergraduate students, they do so with hope and trust. They hope their children will be safe, and they trust that as university leaders, we will do everything within our power to keep them safe. They hope their young people will be equipped to meet the demands of their vocations in an increasingly competitive 21st-century economy, and they trust that Houghton will provide an academically challenging educational experience intentionally grounded in God’s Word and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As families send their young people to Houghton, they hope and trust that we will be more courageous than we have ever been, refusing to cower or compromise in the face of the enemy’s attacks. That instead, we will stand boldly and courageously, proclaiming the truth of God’s incomprehensible love for us, telling everyone who will listen that hope and the redemption of man can come only through faith in Jesus Christ, and equipping our students for faithful Christian leadership and service. Families are hoping Houghton will deliver on our promises, and they are trusting that we will be true to our word. We will not let them down.