2021-2022 Graduate Student Ambassadors- Janell Miller

Program Area of Study

Ph.D., TELS, Literacy & English Language Arts Education 

Bio

Janell Miller, a native of New Brunswick, NJ attended NCSU as an undergraduate student in 2009. She graduated with BA in English and a minor in Africana Studies in 2013. Janell became a high school English teacher at Smith High School in Greensboro in 2014. In 2016, Janell became the English department chair for Carver High School in Winston-Salem. After seven years of teaching and earning her MS in Curriculum and Instruction, she left Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School in 2021 to pursue her PhD full time.

Why NC State?

I chose to pursue graduate education at NCSU because it is an environment in which I feel supported and have created a strong educational relationship. I earned my bachelors, masters, and now my PHD from NCSU; it’s like my second home. A part of my relationship with NCSU and the college of education is being able to see its grow with initiatives like becoming an anti-racist college. I am inspired by the college of education faculty, their knowledge and insights, and their research. It is through graduate education at NCSU that I hope to become an educational scholar and activist.

One insight gained so far…

We can do hard work! Unpacking our personal experiences, beliefs, and values that have created our perceptions and worldview is a part of that hard work. We must commit to doing and being better by practicing care. Interacting with individuals who hold different values and ideas is vital because it allows us to grow, expand, and perceive in ways that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to. To achieve this, we must “touch the grass.” We need to get out into the actual world and speak with people that are different from us. We need to look for real-world perspectives. This is how we will learn to care for and commit to the well-being of others.