Chy'Na Nellon, a Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies doctoral candidate, recently became assistant director of Learning Innovation and Assessment. A new department created in January, Learning Innovation and Assessment focuses on both campus and course retention in a variety of ways; from course specific engagement, to student outreach, as well as community engagement. The position integrates her scholarship in the digital humanities, teaching experience, and her entrepreneurial innovation.

Prior to COVID, Nellon worked as an adjunct professor for the HBCU Philander Smith University.

"When COVID hit, we didn't have graduation for two years. So when we finally had our graduation, I had two years of my students walking across the stage, and something happened to me," Nellon said, deciding it was finally time for her Ph.D., already equipped with a double major and two master's degrees.

Nellon chose the Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Program because of its interdisciplinary nature, as her work focuses on a variety of different things that come together in dual spaces. Her advisory committee consists of professors in history, English, the Digital Humanities, Classics and game design.

While she intended to pursue research in film, "I didn't do anything that I planned to do when I came here. … The two main people who have helped me in my Ph.D. process so far, started the same semester I started my Ph.D. program. 
And they encouraged me, particularly Dr. Curtis Maughan, to do Ph.D. research that I was interested in, but that I needed a university to do. That's when I started looking at artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR)." 

While the term "digital humanities" is a recent development, Nellon has been unknowingly incorporating them into her classrooms throughout her teaching career, "using technology and media in my classes, … anything that's interactive." With storytelling at the heart of Nellon's work, she looks at AR and VR as storytelling mediums capable of transmitting cultural narratives, focusing on questions of how we share these narratives and how do we construct them in virtual and artificial spaces specifically.

"I teach a Black Digital Storytelling class I created for African American studies. In there we create two digital stories, a podcast, and a short film in VR space." The class objective is introducing students to several different tools that they can use in the real world or any class that they have. "If they can't articulate what they can do with [a] class, it's somewhat problematic because they should be able to understand how those skill sets are beneficial to them. What are you doing here that transitions to the outside space? [We] need to be able to articulate how these skill sets, and the experience [we] gain from these skill sets are applicable to [any] particular job market." 


Applying the template and objective of her Black Digital Storytelling course to her role in LIA, Nellon focuses on questions of engagement, which she views as tied to retention. "I think one of the big retention issues is students don't know what they're doing with their skill sets, how does this benefit [them]?" Her goal is, "to make sure that as our students are changing, we have the ability to change our material with them, but still keep that same standard of rigor, still make sure that they're learning the principles and things that they need to learn."

Nellon's general advice to students is, "if possible, always work towards your dissertation or thesis or whatever that overarching idea is that you had. If possible, whatever work you're creating, make it community oriented, not closed and private." For Nellon, the CLCS program provided her with an opportunity to apply her academic experiences to a community oriented position.

"If you are looking for an opportunity to pursue an idea that is yours," Nellon said, "if you are ready to do the work of putting those ideas together, and if you are looking at something that doesn't quite fit into a specific field, CLCS is for you."