Today we’d like to introduce you to Asha Layne
Hi Asha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey is deeply influenced by my culture and values. As an Afro-Caribbean immigrant from the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I was surrounded by powerful female role models who instilled in me the power of prayer, respect for others, and my uncles, the importance of having your own and moving with integrity. My mother, a retired registered nurse, primarily taught me the value of hard work, service, and community. These values, combined with the cultural slang ‘beat yuh books,’ which captures how education is revered in the islands, would serve as the impetus for my journey.
Even though my path to becoming a tenured professor at Morgan State University was not direct, each step allowed me to understand the importance of education and see how education, for some, is a privilege, not a right, through my interactions and observations. More importantly, as I immersed myself in my discipline while obtaining my Ph.D. at Howard University, I realized I could impart my knowledge, research, and experiences to students in a culturally rich space, empowering students with knowledge so they can positively impact the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If you look at my CV or resume, you will not know the sacrifices I made to complete my master’s and doctoral degrees, my living conditions, my financial status, the delayed gratification, or my personal or mental health. Yes, I am accomplished. However, success comes with sacrifices and humility. One of the major struggles I feel comfortable sharing because it needs to be disclosed is the significant rate of financial insecurity among college students, especially graduate students. To provide context, I completed my master’s in 2009 at Morgan State. The sole reason why I left New Jersey in 2006 was to attend graduate school. During that time, I was employed, so financially, I was in the green. However, when I realized that I needed to earn my Ph.D. to have a career in higher education, I had to make a sacrifice for the proverbial “greater good.”
Commuting from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., regularly to attend classes was not conducive, especially working shift work, so I resigned from my position with the Baltimore City Police Department as a Crime Scene Investigator. During my first year first semester, I lived off of my savings and was fortunate enough to receive internal funding from Howard during my second semester. However, I had expenses. My mom is in Jersey, and she had plans to retire, and I only had two family members in Maryland. I did not want to be a financial burden to anyone. I hustled the only way I knew how—taking various adjunct teaching jobs at multiple universities to make ends meet. However, after paying bills and rent, I only had money to put gas in my car. Despite making less than $12,000 one year, my application for food stamps was denied. That shit right there was humbling, and it hit differently!
Ultimately, despite receiving a scholarship from Howard, I took out FAFSA loans, which served as my income. At 31, I took out my first educational loan, not to pay for my tuition but to put gas in my car, pay rent, bills, etc. I would do this for three years, so I did not become homeless, be a financial burden to my mother and others, and finish what I started. I never played around when it came to education, but when I was at Howard, I was super-focused because of my sacrifices and how much I invested in getting accepted into a Ph.D. I was going to graduate with my Ph.D. on time. Full stop!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an associate professor at Morgan State University in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Criminal Justice Program. I have been at Morgan for 8 years after completing my postdoc work there as a Community Statistician in 2016. Because of my education and professional background, I teach sociology and criminology classes. My general research areas are victimization, critical criminology, policing, Black womanism/feminism, and urban sociology, emphasizing qualitative research methods.
One of the most exciting things about my work is the freedom and autonomy in higher education. I can structure or tailor my curricula and learning assessments as I see fit to better meet my students’ needs. I can also present an idea and obtain funding to see it through and produce new knowledge. Publishing and sharing your work with a broader audience means a lot to me. I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment I had when I received my first publication. That moment was proud because it affirmed what my graduate instructors always told me.
My personality and drive set me apart from others. As explained, I am fine with delaying or postponing something to get the job done.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can contact me via Morgan State University’s The Department of Sociology and Anthropology homepage. Listed there is a brief bio that includes my research areas. If anyone wants to invite me on a project, or has any questions, I can be reached at asha.layne@morgan.edu.
