Tammy White is an assistant professor and the director of the master’s program in educational leadership. In her classroom, she prepares graduate students to become education leaders themselves.
White is in her third year of teaching at Winthrop. Before she worked at Winthrop she was a principal in Rock Hill, and now she teaches students how to become principals.
“I work with graduate students who are looking to get their certificate to get certified to basically become a middle school principal,” White explained.
White officially began teaching here at Winthrop 5 years ago part-time, after she finished her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina. “I’m a former principal at the Rock Hill School district.” White said, “When I finished my Ph.D. in 2013 I was called by the director of the program at the time who asked me if I would consider teaching some adjunct classes on the side.”
White was a principal for 13 years before becoming a professor. Accepting the position at Winthrop was a no-brainer for her.
“My ultimate career goal was to be able to teach in higher education,” White said. “I always knew that I wanted to teach after I retired from the school district, and the opportunity presented itself sooner than I expected, so when it came, I took it.”
Prior to being a principal, she began her career as a middle school math teacher.
“I love teaching,” White said. “I really enjoy teaching and when I was a principal, I love doing that. Engaging with students and the community, but at the same time I really missed teaching. So when I was working on my Ph.D. I realized that I really liked to get back to teaching one day. It’s my passion, so now teaching here, teaching teachers is just the ultimate dream of mine, they’re such passionate learners. They’re so caring and their potential career choice to teach means so much to them.”
White uses her own personal experience to guide her students the best way she can.
“I try to instill in them the understanding of their importance in the school and the community as education leaders,” White explained. “Being a principal is very much like being a pastor in a church, it’s a calling and a mission that people have to have. That willingness to take on a greater role and understanding that you’re going to have a significant impact on not only the children but the adults that come with them. It’s important for them to embrace the fact that they’re going to be a strong role model for the kids looking at them for leadership.”
Knowing the weight of what the job entails, White would like her students to understand the impact they will have as principals.
“They have to understand that power in their rule. It’s a big job and I think some people have the impression that it’s an easy job when the truth is it’s a 24/7 job,” White said.“When conflict ultimately arises and when they’re facing higher accountability, it’s my job to teach them not to have all the answers but know where to go back and get the answers.”
Professor White wants her students to know that she’s always here for her students during school and after they graduate. She always wants to lend a helping hand.
“I think teachers and student leaders of all kinds need to know they have our support,” White said. “They need to know they can reach back to us at Winthrop if they ever need to.”
Recently White had her longtime friend and senator, Mike Fleming, visit Winthrop.
“Mike is a personal friend of mine. Other than being a senator he was also once a teacher himself. So, he’s someone I worked rather closely with through the recruitment of our students and the career planning of the students,” White explained. “I am currently teaching a graduate-level finance course, so when he’s available I like to have him come in and present to the students about the educational budgeting process and how that works from his perspective as a senator. He’s a great presenter and he shows students how to make our representatives accountable and help them understand finances.”
For students who are considering a career path in teaching or a leadership position that involves working with students, White encourages students to soak up as much time as they can working with kids to determine if that’s the career path they want to take.
“For students that are considering this career field at an undergrad level, I encourage them to take any opportunity to engage with kids as often as possible,” White said. “Find out if that’s something you can see yourself doing for the next couple of decades, find out if that’s something you enjoy because a lot of people don’t actually like working with kids. But some do and want to be a significant influence in their lives. Take the time to do some intel to figure out if that’s what you want. Teaching swimming lessons is actually how I found out that I not only loved teaching and working with kids but that I also had the talent for it. That I didn’t know I had until I engage in it.”
