We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tanya Boucicaut. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tanya below.

Tanya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

There are many things that I would change about the educational system for whom I have spent the majority of my life being engaged, which is higher education, as an almost 20-year professional student (I finish my PhD in December) to being a former professor to being an editor for a college and career preparation nonprofit called AVID Center for which I was an AVID student all four years of high school. I must shout out Coach Dwight Robinson, Dr. Kellie Mason, and Dr. Paula Johnson, who have been instrumental in my life from high school to my present-day career and academic choices. I shout them out because they are/were all connected to AVID in pivotal ways that impacted my life. They saw me here before I could even imagine it. I give AVID a shout-out because, with this current position, I can live and thrive in LA.

I would change the pressure cooker reputation of the college experience and process and help students, faculty, and administration remember the experience portion. To expect adolescents or even folks in a major transition to have it all figured out at the beginning is unfair and unrealistic. Most of us took several paths to get to where we are and are still journeying. There needs to be more grace and empathy given that will allow for the space to grow, explore, and learn who each student will become. As students grow, faculty grows as well. There is a reciprocal exchange.

I believe it starts with faculty and administration. Colleges invite students into their spaces, and students should be able to make them their own. But, initially, students are invited into systems and structures that are already in place. Students are often unaware of all the nuances and intricacies of these systems and structures. Part of what I see as my role is to support students in making sense of these systems and structures and then helping them through activities, discussions, readings, and other classroom knowledging to discover how they can see themselves represented, having their voices heard, how they can find balance and support their well-being to have as complete as they can college experiences beyond just making good grades. Grades matter, of course, but they are not all that is to the college experience. This process is ever-evolving, life-changing, and worth the time and intention for students to gain a strong sense of self, explore their dreams, and later discover how their passions can, along with their academics, then give direction for a full life and meaningful career pathways.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Who is Tanya? Or, Booce (Boo-see), as I am affectionately called.

I am a dreamer, educator, and storyteller. My dreams led me to leave my career as an assistant writing professor and eventually move to Los Angeles to work in film and television. And, eventually, finally came this spring! I am happy to say that I am a part of the Short Film Series, which is a joint collaboration with New Sunday Productions and California Worship Center, and am currently learning how to produce faith-based short film content. I must shout out Joyce Washington, Salena Hutcherson, Ashlei Murray, Terice Wafer, and the entire team! It is crucial for me to give people their flowers because the amazing folks I mentioned have literally been changing my life and making my dreams come true! What a privilege, and I do not ever want to miss the moments of gratitude.

Back to my dream journey, it began in 2020 when I decided to create the educational platform Booce Teaches. At the time, I have been in higher education since 2010 and wanted to share my wisdom, experience, and advice from the last decade or so. I started Booce Teaches as a YouTube channel hosting advice videos and a podcast for students, early career educators, and lifelong learners. I also must share that this YouTube journey has been quite interesting. While I have taken numerous scriptwriting classes, have a terminal degree in theatre, and many filmmaking classes, I am still on my artistic journey. A marker of my channel is embracing the learning journey in this public way and not shying from being perceived. There is beauty in imperfection. There are mistakes that I do not edit on purpose. Like with teaching, each time I show up on the channel, I am giving the best of what I have the capacity to give in those filming moments, and that is enough.

I am excited to share my first web series, The First Year Experience! It is framed like Facetime/Google Meet vertical short calls to students that offer advice on a range of topics, from breaking down a syllabus to goal setting to week-by-week tips to even tips on making friends to finding joy to even navigating difficult moments like being unsuccessful in a course in a such an informal way. It really feels like a phone call! The informality is purposeful so that students do not have to feel like they have to be someone other than themselves when watching the episodes. The web series’ goal is to support college students and lifelong learners in finding grace and confidence through this rewarding yet challenging college experience. Paired with the series is the first season of my podcast, The Booce Teaches Podcast, where I have 20 conversations with 21 of my mentors about their academic, career, personal, and social journeys in life. We laugh, cry, joke, reminisce, dream, and so much more. We have what I like to call soulful conversations that stick to your bones. We end each episode with a nod to Hip Hop’s Top Five game, where we talk about their top five artists, movies, playwrights, and more. I tailored the game for each person. It has taken three years to release this first season because I wanted to edit the episodes myself. Whew! Audio engineering, when I didn’t know much about microphones, is not for the faint of heart! I am happy to say that the next season will be about my former students and their journeys. The audio will be much clearer in the second season. There is beauty, though, in seeing a project evolve. So, I am enjoying the learning process!

I am currently accepting clients for the new year after I complete my Writing and Rhetoric PhD in December 2024 at George Mason University. I am accepting clients for the following projects: academic publications, doctoral projects, book proposals, books, presentations, general creative projects, public speaking, and program development. To offer a little more about my editing background, I have spent several years working in various writing and editorial roles, including a few, but all listed below:
– Worked as an editorial assistant for an academic journal
– Served as a guest co-editor for an academic journal issue
– Edited several publications and one book
– Worked as a freelance editor for several graduate students
– Worked as an assistant editor for Virginia Union University School of Theology’s accreditation document

Additionally, I will launch member-based mentorship cohort communities for first-year college students in the upcoming year. These communities will serve as consistent digital learning platforms where students can ask questions, seek advice on important resources, and find support while navigating the college experience. It’s like having a college version of study hall. I am going to be busy in 2025! *big smile* Also, starting in 2025, I will be offering storytelling writing seminars inspired by the college-level courses I previously taught. These seminars are designed for individuals interested in using writing and yoga as a combined healing practice. The workshops will focus on general writing processes, storytelling, golden era Hip Hop, research skills, self-discovery, professional growth, school applications/fellowships, and more.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission in my creative journey is to explore the beauty of the mundane in a maximalist way. I believe in seeing the beauty of life’s everydayness (is that even a word?) and capturing that in writing, painting, building, or even collage-making.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

What is most rewarding is seeing or hearing feedback that my offerings have helped people see themselves more clearly, love themselves more, feel less alone, and know with confidence that they are not the only ones who have gone through the peaks and valleys of life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.booceteaches.com
• Instagram: @booceteaches
• Linkedin: @booceteaches
• Youtube: @booceteaches

Image Credits

Love Others Media