Naima Brown
Bridging the gap toward success D
r. Naima Brown’s love for teaching has opened doors in her life to make an impact on those around her. Brown grew up in north Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a housing project with a single-parent mother. The power of education was instilled in her from childhood. “From first grade through eighth grade, we did not participate in the neighborhood school system,” Brown said. Brown’s mother made sure her and her sister were at the bus stop by 6:30 a.m. to go to a magnet school called Fitler Academics Plus School. “I think that helped me to pursue college because the school focused on going to college even at that young age, which is something that my peers in the neighborhood didn’t have.” Brown said that they were teased for catching the school bus every day to go to school because everybody else in the neighborhood walked around the corner to go to school. Brown’s love for education and teaching brought her to Florida in 1990 to pursue a degree at Florida A&M
Story by: Voleer Thomas
University as a first-generation college student. When she made her decision, she said, “College would be a route to get me to where I wanted to be—Florida.” Brown received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Florida A & M University in 1995 and a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Florida in 1997. Five years later, she earned a Doctoral degree in Sociology from the University of Florida.
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Brown appreciates her mother for being the driving force to pursue her collegiate endeavors. “She has always been a big proponent for education,” Brown said. “That is why it’s so important for me to help students because I know that potential lies in every single person and you just got to remove barriers to help them.” Brown started teaching sociology at Santa Fe College full-time in 2000. “As a faculty member, I love connecting with the students,” Brown said. “Interacting with them, engaging with them, sharing resources, and helping them to make the college experience relevant to their lives and where they were going.” Brown has traveled to Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. “I love teaching,” Brown said. “I developed really strong relationships with my students. I loved studying abroad. I lead trips around the world for the college. I helped to establish relationships with other institutions on behalf of the college.” Brown loved sociology because the study of how the social world impacts
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