Meet Tequila Stamps

We were lucky to catch up with Tequila Stamps recently and have shared our conversation below.

TeQuila , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I believe that my resilience is deeply interwoven into my DNA. It is almost as though it is a character trait that has been passed down through the generations of my ancestors—to my mother, her mother, my grand and great parents, back several generations.

I learned resilience observing my mother and grandmother, great grandparents, and relatives not just survive but thrive and overcome in the face of adversity. My great, great grandparents migrated north, to the Chicagoland area, as part of the Great Migration, and acquired land in addition to building several homes at a time when amassing wealth and obtaining homeownership was unheard of for African Americans.

My resilience is motivated by the sheer desire to make those very ancestors proud of all that I have accomplished and become. It comes from an unwavering commitment to model for my children that they can and will accomplish anything that they dream and conceive of.

My resilience also comes from knowing my creator and higher power.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I currently serve as the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning at a school district just outside of Chicago. Serving in this role presents a unique opportunity for me to impact the lives of the students, staff, and community that I serve.

On a daily basis, I have the privilege of supporting students by working to ensure that each student in my district has equitable access to high quality instruction that prepares them for career and college readiness as well as resources to support them holistically. An example of such holistic supports would include opportunities for students as well as staff to develop their social emotional competencies, mental health awareness, and to build their respective toolkits for both. I consider this a privilege and a gift to be able to pour into the lives of others in such a way that will critically and significantly impact their future. As educators, we literally have the ability to shape, mold, and develop future world leaders!

It’s incredibly important for me to prepare students academically and educationally but to also help students and staff learn to identify and constructively contend with SE & mental health challenges that arise—so they are better prepared to navigate challenges from a more healthy and regulated place.

Another large aspect of my current role is providing direct support to parents, guardians, and community stakeholders—whether it is connecting them with educational resources, assisting them with problem solving issues and challenges that arise, or engaging with them on a personal level to build school and community relationships.

I also have the privilege of regularly pouring into both novice and tenured educators to keep them abreast of research-based practices to prepare them to teach and lead 21st Century Classrooms. This ultimately impacts student achievement.

This is, however, my 20th year as an educator—all within the same school district, so I look forward to branching out to do more consultative work with school districts as an educational consultant. I believe that my dissertation research nicely supports this work.

I also look forward to supporting students more so directly through extracurricular activities and opportunities targeted at academic, SE, and mental health interventions.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would say that determination and resiliency are important qualities to embody. They motivate you to continue forging ahead in in the face of obstacles and challenges.

I would add that communication and networking skills are also important. As an emerging leader, it is extremely important to be able to effectively and passionately communicate your mission and vision. Networking is also extremely important—in terms of connecting with individuals who are already where you want to be and subsequently being able to leverage those connections.

With respect to specific areas of knowledge, education was definitely a vehicle that propelled me forward—both seeking out higher Ed and obtaining advanced degrees but also choosing it as a field to work in. I’ll add that anything related to STEM and AI are also hugely important areas of knowledge to stay abreast of and to be versed in. I heard an interesting quote from a colleague recently. It essentially said that individuals won’t be replaced by AI; however, they would be replaced by professionals who can fully harness the potential and capabilities of AI.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am definitely looking to partner and collaborate with others in the educational space—educators, leaders, visionaries. There is still so much work to be done in the field of education—particularly for students of color, who still face significant challenges with simply accessing education on the same level as students who come from more affluent backgrounds. When I think about the looming cuts to Title Funding, it is these very students who will be most impacted.

I am also looking to collaborate with others in the field to create greater access to STEM, Career and Technical Education (CTE), SE, and mental health learning opportunities for students.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/dr-tequila-stamps-5199076b
• Twitter: @tequila_stamps

Image Credits

Images are generally depictions of me engaged in work or activities related to my passions. There are no specific individuals to give credit to.