95. Teaching with Love with Social Justice Educator, Researcher, and Coach Jen Fry

95. Teaching with Love with Social Justice Educator, Researcher, and Coach Jen Fry

Introducing Jen Fry

Today I’m talking to Social Justice Educator, Researcher, and Coach Dr. Jen Fry about teaching with love.

Her Career Journey

Jen’s lifelong journey through higher education began with volleyball. She earned her associate’s at Arizona Western College and then her bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Montevallo while playing volleyball at both. She then went on to serve as the graduate assistant coach while earning two master’s degrees from Tiffin University as well as a master’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She later coached collegiate volleyball from coast to coast. While working at Duke, she began developing her public speaking skills and is now the owner of Jen Fry Talks, a leading DEI educational and consulting firm in the athletic industry. She most recently completed her PhD in geography at Michigan State University with her dissertation titled “Critical Black Feminist Sports Geographies Framework.”

Teaching with Love

Jen changed course in her master’s program at UNCG just before graduating when she found the cultural foundations department. This was an environment where her instructors, all people of color, taught with understanding and compassion. This tied in with her coaching philosophy, where she always wanted her athletes to see what it meant to be human and navigate life’s challenges. When Jen began to consider the next step in her career outside of college athletics, she was drawn to research as a way to bring a new approach to the racism she had and her athletes had faced and continue teaching with love.

Inside this episode:

  • Jen said she had no plans for what she wanted to do when she grew up and kept pursuing opportunities to play volleyball and receive an education, ultimately becoming a head coach with multiple master’s degrees. 
  • Right before completing a master’s, Jen switched programs to study cultural foundations when she found a department that felt like home.
  • When she began her PhD in sport geography at 39, she had been in higher education for her entire career and went in with a clear understanding of her research interests and how to be successful in this environment. This set her up to finish her degree in three years in the very new field of sports geography.
  • As an athlete, Jen benefitted from the unique experience of having all woman head coaches, many of whom were women of color, at all levels of volleyball. This leadership shaped her approach to coaching.
  • Jen felt she was missing major life events by working in college athletics while not being compensated for the time spent coaching on weekends and odd hours. After taking stock of her emotions, she began creating a career where she could enact the kind of change she wanted to see. 
  • She wants other coaches to know that their skill set from running a team is transferable to so many other career options. 
  • Jen developed her public speaking skills by doing and watching. She learned from experts and took advice from her support network.
  • She handles the stress of living, working, and researching DEI by knowing when to take breaks and relying on her partner and friends to pull her away when she needs it.

Resources

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