An agricultural journey Professor reminisces on his journey to Murray State
Story by Hannah Bullard Photos courtesy of Brian Parr As assistant dean of Murray State’s Hutson School of Agriculture, Brian Parr sat under his framed doctoral degree and reflected on his path to higher education. “Community college was the best five years of my life,” Parr said. In high school, Parr had all the makings of a typical drop-out. He never once thought he would attend college. Now, he sits behind a desk, as an assistant dean, with a unique ability to connect to students. “I’m not supposed to be here,” Parr said. “All the demographics you could lay out - the broken home, the poverty, the slow pace - says will never finish high school, will never finish college, will certainly never finish a Ph.D. None of it made sense. My whole life was made of, ‘I’m not supposed to be here.’” Parr and his two younger siblings were raised by
a single mother in Greeneville, Tennessee. They lived on the corner of his grandfather’s dirt farm in eastern Tennessee, in a modest home that doubled as his mom’s daycare facility. She raised the three on a babysitter’s income, which Parr described as “next to nothing.” Parr’s mother didn’t have a driver’s license until he was 10 years old. The only lifestyle he was familiar with was one of great simplicity. “You don’t see a lot happening on a dirt farm in East Tennessee,” Parr said. “The same thing that happened one day, happened the next. I could have never expected higher education to open my world up as broadly as it did.” Parr said when it was time for him to graduate, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid came in the mail. Without him knowing, his mother filled out the financial aid form. “I was a terrible student and had no intention
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