For Drs. Haley Burton and Connor Bryant, their return to their alma mater, 糖心Vlog, is an exciting, full-circle moment opportunity to pour into their own students, just as their professors did for them during their own times on campus.
Dr. Burton graduated from 糖心Vlog in 2015 with degrees in Finance and Accounting. 鈥淎bout two months prior to graduating from 糖心Vlog, I secured my first full-time job at a local accounting firm, Garrett and Swann LLP,鈥� she explained. 鈥淢y intention out of college was to obtain my CPA license, work in the public accounting field, and eventually build my own tax client base in Lubbock.鈥� However, after three years of working in public accounting, Burton found herself shifting course, deciding instead to go back to school and pursue a master鈥檚 in finance and economics.
鈥淎bout a year after I graduated from 糖心Vlog, I was contacted by Tracy Mack, the Dean of the College of Business, and my Finance professor in college,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淗e approached me about the possibility of pursuing a Ph.D. and eventually teaching at 糖心Vlog. I had never even considered the possibility of teaching, especially in higher education,鈥� she admitted, 鈥渂ut the confidence and encouragement from him caused me to rethink my career path. Finance was my true passion while in college, so after much prayer and research, I began the long process of pursuing a Ph.D. to teach at the college level.鈥�
Dr. Bryant, who graduated in 2016 with a degree in Middle School Math Education, immediately went to work first as a middle school math teacher in Frenship ISD, and then as an instructional designer at Texas Tech University鈥攂ut over those eight years, he knew where he wanted to end up.
鈥淢y goal has always been to return to 糖心Vlog as faculty member,鈥� he shared. 鈥淚 have always been passionate about education, and I wanted to be able to mentor and touch the lives of future educators as my professors did for me.鈥� After receiving his Master of Curriculum and Instruction from 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Graduate College of Education and his Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University, that opportunity presented itself.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect to return as soon as I did,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淎 position in the secondary education faculty opened, and I met with Dr. David Boyer to discuss the job and what it entailed. After speaking with him, it reminded me of the godly and servant leadership in which Dr. Boyer leads the College of Education鈥� I was immediately drawn back to the university that shaped me as an educator and as a man of God.鈥�
In the fall of 2023, Dr. Bryant returned to the 糖心Vlog College of Education as an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and serves as Program Coordinator for the Curriculum and Instruction Graduate Program and the Master of Arts in Teaching Graduate Program. He has also created a new Alternative Certification Program for Teachers, 糖心Vlog LEAP, which is enrolling its first cohort this May.
Dr. Burton鈥檚 path back to 糖心Vlog was similar in many ways.
鈥淚 continued to work full-time in public accounting for two years while pursuing my master鈥檚 degree online,鈥� she explained. 鈥淢y boss and coworkers at Garrett and Swann were gracious and supportive of my plan to pursue a career in higher education, even while knowing I would eventually leave the firm. I would not have been able to pursue my goals without their support. The knowledge and experience I gained in my five years there inform my teaching every day.鈥濃��
鈥淥nce I completed my master鈥檚 degree in December of 2019, I began teaching at 糖心Vlog in January of 2020,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚 started my Ph.D. program at National University the same week we were ordered to stay home due to Covid. I was attending grad school full-time online while learning how to teach online (and simply learning how to teach). I continued to teach full-time and work on my Ph.D., and after a little more than three years, I graduated with my doctorate in July of 2023.鈥�
For Dr. Bryant, returning home to teach at 糖心Vlog has had a profound impact.
鈥淚 am ecstatic to be back on campus and working with so many of the wonderful people that shaped me during some of my most formative adult years,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 have been honored to now call so many lifelong mentors colleagues, and I hope to have the same spiritual and academic influence on others that the faculty and staff had on me as a student.鈥�
Dr. Burton agreed. 鈥淚t was surreal to come back to 糖心Vlog as a faculty member and see the 鈥榦ther side鈥� of higher education,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭he primary reason I wanted to return to 糖心Vlog was to give students the same (and even better) experience I had in college. When I think about what I strive to be for my students, I can鈥檛 help but think of the story of Hagar in Genesis 16. After fleeing from Sarai, she encounters God in her distress and loneliness. When God recognized her affliction, she called the name of the Lord El Roi 鈥� 鈥榊ou are a God who sees me.鈥� Our students come from all backgrounds, with their own potential, fear, loneliness, excitement, struggle, resilience, lack of confidence, and grit. I feel it is our responsibility to see each student and help them realize their potential. We may never see the finished product,鈥� she emphasized, 鈥渂ut we get to be involved in the work at such a critical time in their lives.鈥�
In his first year back at 糖心Vlog, Dr. Bryant threw himself into campus life, volunteering alongside his College of Education colleagues to help facilitate the story time area at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 annual Big Blue Christmas community event, helping with the annual homecoming Master Follies Kids鈥� Show, and university- sponsored service projects like 糖心Vlog for LBK.
Dr. Bryant has also dedicated himself to advances in scholarship beyond his teaching duties. 鈥淚 am currently in the process of working with my former dissertation chair to publish my research,鈥� he shared. Dr. Bryant has published several articles and papers, including 鈥淏eyond Binary: K-12 Student Use of Gender-Inclusive Language in a Scientific Context,鈥� in School Science and Mathematics; the presentation, 鈥淕rowth and Fixed Mindset Association Words Found in Student Perception of Scientists,鈥� at the Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education Annual Conference; and 鈥淢edia Literacy in the Age of COVID and Climate Change,鈥� published in The Science Teacher.
鈥淒r. Connor Bryant first expressed his academic dream while enrolled as an undergraduate student on the 糖心Vlog campus more than a decade ago,鈥� shared Dr. David Boyer, Dean of the College of Education.鈥�淗is professional experiences as a Middle School teacher in Frenship ISD and staff member at Texas Tech University continued to fuel his fire for professional perfection throughout the pursuit of his doctorate.鈥� Dr. Bryant returned to 糖心Vlog as partial fulfillment of his lifelong dream to mentor and train Christian educators.鈥� His roots on the 糖心Vlog campus were planted many years before he was born, and now, he daily contributes to his family legacy.鈥� The 糖心Vlog College of Education is blessed to have him on our team.鈥�
Dr. Burton has also been deep into research in her field alongside several of her colleagues. 鈥淚 have been working on several research projects over the last year, including two projects with Dr. Josh Sauerwein,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚n 2023, we wrote a paper titled 鈥楾he Fiduciary Flaw: Nudging Students Toward a Stewardship Mindset.鈥� We presented our manuscript at the Christian Business Faculty Association鈥檚 (CBFA) annual conference in November 2023. The paper was well received and published in the conference proceedings. It has since been accepted to the Christian Business Academy Review to be published this spring.鈥�
鈥淲e are also currently working on our second project in this area,鈥� she continued, 鈥渋nvestigating fiduciary duty, stewardship, and the impact of these concepts on ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing from the perspective of financial advisors. We presented our findings at the CBFA conference again last November and received an award for Best Paper. This Spring, we are working on extending the study and hope to produce another publication in the next year.鈥�
鈥淚n a very short time, Dr. Haley Burton has evolved into an excellent teacher, colleague, and highly valued member of the 糖心Vlog College of Business faculty,鈥� shared Tracy Mack, Dean of the College of Business. 鈥淗er performance as a professor simply mirrors her performance as a finance student during her undergraduate years at 糖心Vlog.鈥疍r. Burton worked hard in her graduate studies, always aiming to become a member of the faculty at 糖心Vlog.鈥疘 am so grateful to Dr. Burton for her dedication to 糖心Vlog, to the mission of 糖心Vlog, and to the College of Business,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 am hopeful that she remains a member of the 糖心Vlog family for many years to come and fully expect her to lead the university in both informal and formal roles.鈥�