Miscellaneous

I ran my first 8K race on May 2, 2026. I finished 93rd out of 368 runners, which felt like a victory in itself. But the number isn’t what I remember most. What stays with me are the faces of my students, I. and F., who trained with me every week. We ran through drizzle, through the kind of Tennessee humidity that makes you question your life choices, and through laughter that made the miles disappear. By race day, the rhythm felt easy because we had earned it together.

Being an educator doesn’t stop when the lecture ends. It’s not just about employability or grades. It’s about helping young adults find their footing in their work, in their communities, and in themselves. Running beside my students reminded me that growth happens in motion, not in isolation. Sometimes mentorship looks like feedback on a thesis. Sometimes it looks like pacing each other through the last mile of an 8K.

I’m proud of what we accomplished together. And I’m especially proud of D., another one of my students, who crossed the finish line first. Watching them push, sweat, and succeed is the kind of teaching that keeps me grounded. It reminds me why I call myself an activist and practitioner, because advocacy isn’t an abstract process. It’s lived, shared, and sometimes measured in miles.