Taiesha Smith, PhD

Dr. Taiesha Smith is a former high school History teacher, department chair, and instructional coach with over a decade of teaching experience. As an educator she taught on-level, Advanced Placement, Gifted, and Special Education students. After working in several of the largest school districts in the state of Georgia including Fulton, Dekalb, Clayton, Cobb, and Atlanta Public Schools, she decided to transition into higher education.

Her passion for educator efficacy and the success of African American students converged in her dissertation entitled, The Anatomy of Success: Academic Completion Among Undergraduate African Americans Attending College After a Hiatus. Her work focused on student persistence, retention, and graduation rates of African-American students who left college due to life’s circumstances, returned, and successfully graduated.

In addition to a focus on retention and persistence, she has spoken at conferences about first-generation students and published an article in About Campus entitled, TRiO Programs Aren’t Designed to Do it All: Reflective Conversations to Support First-Generation Students. This article explored the lived experiences of her and her peers as they navigated college as first-generation college students. She is currently writing a chapter in a book that focuses on the perspectives of first-gen students in the workplace.

These experiences allowed her to witness the lack of preparation in rising college students and the absence of non-academic supports for first generation and first year college students. This inspired her to develop intentional programs to support K-12 and higher education professionals as they identify areas of collaboration to improve student outcomes.