Jennie Carter Thomas
Why I am teaching at Belmont University
I love school. I always have. As a little girl, I played school, teaching my dolls and my cousins. Later, I went to a teachers' college and started my teaching career in the mountains of Appalachia. Since then, I have taught in an affluent private elementary school, a neighborhood suburban school, a state university, and in the public housing projects. I have worked in education policy in the office of the U. S. Secretary of Education, state capitols, the National Governors' Association and a private foundation. Once, I even helped write a speech on education for President Ronald Reagan.
Today, I am in my fifteenth year of teaching at Belmont University's College of Business, and I have found the best. Why is it the best? The students! Belmont's students are absolutely the finest, brightest, the most creative, most imaginative and hardest-working young people I have ever encountered. And they smile a lot. Last year, a prospective student that I was trying hard to recruit asked me to sum up Belmont in one sentence. 'It's a place of rich learning where we all are committed to our students first, and Belmont is full of smiles.' I said, and that is how I see it.
Belmont has a special spirit. The faculty and staff are highly qualified and possess a strong work ethic, but the important thing is that we are committed to going the extra mile for our students every day, all the time. Our students are our focus and not only their learning, but their well-being, too. Here at Belmont, we all share that happy mission. This kind of place makes it easy to smile. I love to teach these great students, and I love the smiles. That's why I am here.
