Daniel Seagrass

So that's actually a funny question, because I've always had a passion for biology, life sciences and science in general. About six years ago when I started my academic journey, I was a little on the fence. I thought I might go into nursing or maybe going to medical school, and as soon as I started taking classes at the junior college at Dallas Community College, I knew immediately I wanted to teach.

I knew I wanted to teach at the college level, and so that left open a lot of different subjects. I went right back to biology. I always had this desire for it.
I had a little bit of a troublesome high school and one of the classes I excelled in was science. I failed a lot of classes in high school. I was just a totally different person back then. I failed English and failed math, but I always did really good in science. I started my college career kind of later in life, I decided I wanted to teach. It was a natural fit for me and so I did three years at the Community College and I transferred to UNT, where I acquired a lot of credits in biology.

It actually wasn't my degree, ironically, but I slid right into a master's in Biological Sciences because I had 80-85 credits in STEM. I met all of the prerequisites and was admitted right in. I knew from the get-go that I have to have a master's. There was no choice of stopping at a bachelor's degree. I wanted to teach at the college level, so it was a master's or bust for me, and that's kind of what led me to UTA.

So my program is actually a non-thesis track. It’s all online. I was joking about this with the other two candidates during our photo shoot because they were both showing their projects. I think they’re both in architecture, which is really cool. And here I am, this lowly little teacher over here, and I didn’t have any of those big projects to work on. Like I said, it’s non-thesis.

I am thinking about maybe going for a PhD. If I do—and this is on the record—I’d love to pursue a PhD in microbiology, specifically human microbiomes. I’m currently taking Dr. Dillon Park’s Microbiomes, Health, and the Human Environment course, and his research is just incredible. It’s all about the microbes living in and on you, what they actually have to do with your health, and how it’s a synergistic relationship. Without them, we might not even be here, and we certainly wouldn’t be as healthy as we are without these microbes—ones we try so desperately to kill, get rid of, and avoid. But there’s so much research now, especially over the last 20 years, that’s been shifting this perspective. It’s slowing things down and asking, “Can we live with them? Can we even utilize them to naturally combat infections and other health issues?” If I did go for a PhD, that would be the one.

On that note—and this ties into my current job—I currently teach English. My degree situation is kind of unique. I’ve been working at Dallas College, formerly Dallas Community College, for the last three years. I’m an academic English coach, and that’s what I’ve been doing for three years. I work with students on all types of academic writing, whether it’s Composition I and II, or any class with a writing component—government, philosophy, history, it doesn’t matter. I work with those students. I also work with ESL students to build their English skills—grammar, sentence structure, pronunciation.

Recently, I got hired as ESL faculty at Dallas College. That’s the new position I started this spring semester. I’m teaching three classes, all eight weeks. Yesterday was actually my last class for the semester, so I’ve been wrapping up grades. After spring break, I’ll be teaching four ESL classes, all different levels.

Where this ties back in is I’ve really been thinking about pursuing a PhD in English. I’ve been looking into several of UT Arlington’s programs—whether it’s a straight English degree or one of their applied linguistics tracks with TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). So when people ask me about my biology degree and what I’ve been studying for six years, they always look at me funny. During my faculty job interview, they were like, “So you’re going for a master’s in biology—how does that tie in?”

Well, I’ve been volunteering as an ESL instructor for years. As soon as I started college during my first semester at Dallas College—about six years ago—I started volunteering as an ESL instructor for adults just to get some experience. I absolutely fell in love with it. I knew I wanted to teach. I knew I wanted to teach adults. Volunteering was my way of building up experience, and I’m confident that those years of volunteer work are what helped me get this faculty position, even though I don’t have a degree in English.

Yeah, so I’ll kind of touch on what you said briefly and tie it back in a little. I think this story—while kind of weird and off—is really common. This is what college can be about: where you think you have one trajectory you’re going down, and suddenly things change. You might still hold onto that trajectory as maybe a backup plan, but you shift your focus. College is all about exploration. You try new things, you do this and you do that, and then you find, whoa, this is where I’m supposed to be.

That’s why I never gave up on biology. I still want to teach it at the college level. But to go into your question, I started volunteering as an ESL instructor. It was initially at the Aberg Center for Literacy in downtown Dallas, and this was in the fall of 2018. That was my first semester taking classes at what was then Dallas Community College, and I fell in love with it. I did two semesters there, teaching adults, and then I took about a year off. I was dying to get back into the classroom, and so I found an organization much closer to my house here in Richardson, Texas. It’s called the Richardson Adult Literacy Center, and I taught there for about five semesters.

I taught numerous different levels, but I primarily taught an intro/basic level class. That’s what I did for four out of my five semesters there. It was a class where some students would come in not even knowing their name or how to spell it, so it was a lot of ABCs and 1-2-3s. I worked with students ranging from 18 years old all the way up to 60-plus. Me being in my 30s, it felt kind of weird at first, sitting there teaching students older than me, but it just felt so natural.

I did that for five semesters. I also taught an ESL citizenship class through that organization, and I really loved that. And that’s what really launched my career into teaching English to adults. I know it’s what helped me get this faculty position.

This right here has been my proudest achievement. I don’t want it to come off as arrogant, but when I was awarded this scholarship, I was overcome. I couldn’t believe it when I got it, and then when I was invited to the reception dinner. I had just come from work. I usually wear jeans and a button-down shirt like you see in this picture, and I showed up to the reception dinner, and everyone’s dressed up. It’s on the top floor of the library, with this beautiful view out the window. We had this amazing dinner with speakers, and I’d never experienced anything like it before. I’ve never been to any kind of formal ball or reception. I’ve never been awarded anything like this. Something about that night—I’ll never forget that feeling.

Driving there and walking in, I thought, thank goodness I’m at least wearing a button-down shirt because there were people there in suits and ties, and I almost felt out of place. I didn’t come from that background. I never came from money. I’ve never been part of anything formal like this. What you see in these pictures is about as dressed up as I get. Business casual works for me and what I do, and I felt so honored just to be there, let alone to receive that scholarship.

To be offered the chance to share my story and do a photo shoot at UTA—this is, by far, my proudest moment. I’m all online, so I’ve only been to campus maybe four or five times. I love it; it’s a beautiful campus, but unfortunately, because of work and the nature of my advanced degree, I don’t have many memories tied to UT Arlington. I mean, I do, but I’ve never lived on campus or attended in-person classes, so it’s hard to pinpoint a crowning achievement there.

This comes to mind, absolutely. No question about it.

If this had been 15 years ago, it would have been a completely different story. There’s no way I would have succeeded in any kind of online setting. I didn’t even succeed in high school when I was in person. But when I went back to school later in life, I knew pretty quickly that I was dedicated, and I’ve stayed true to that.

I’ve never been the smartest person in any class, nor do I try to pretend to be. But I am dedicated—I show up for every class. I’m always there, always on time, always ready to learn. That’s how I’ve been throughout college for in-person classes, so transitioning to online was easy for me.

It’s hard to pinpoint what motivates someone, but I’ve always wanted to learn. I love watching my online lectures, reading online notes, and when my professors share articles or academic journals, I love that too. I understand that some students might not thrive in that environment, but for me, it’s natural because I’ve always loved school.

That said, being online does take something away from me. It doesn’t affect my motivation to learn, complete coursework, or succeed, but I love going to class, being in class, being around classmates, and interacting with instructors. I’ve always been the talkative one in class, even when everyone else is sitting quietly. I love the dialogue, asking questions of the educator in the room, and asking questions of classmates too, because there’s a lot you can learn from them as well. That’s definitely limited in an online environment, and I’ve felt that. I’d like to think I’m pretty outgoing, so I’ve noticed it for sure.

But there are ways to connect online. I’ve participated in discussion boards, reached out outside of those boards, and started group chats—something I’ve done in all my classes so far here at UTA. Last fall was my first semester, and I’ve stayed in touch with some classmates from those courses. Some of them are taking courses with me again this spring, and we’ve kept up, texting back and forth, asking each other questions, and using Teams to video chat, hold meetings, share presentations, and exchange papers.

There are definitely ways to connect for someone like me, someone outgoing who thrives on interacting with others. The university has provided a lot of great resources to help students stay connected, and I think that’s such an important part of the college experience.

For my specific career, one of my short- to medium-term goals is to teach overseas. I don’t have an exact date, but I’m aiming for a time frame of next summer. I’ve been thinking about this for about two years, after being around numerous English ESL teachers, especially in the volunteer world. I’ve had colleagues who’ve taught in Thailand, Taiwan, and China. I also have one colleague in South Korea and another in Japan that I used to teach with. Hearing their stories motivated me, and I knew I needed to do a few things to prepare.

I realized I needed to get some classroom experience to make myself more marketable. In certain countries, you can teach with just a bachelor’s degree and very little experience, but to aim for that next level of teaching—maybe at an International School with higher salaries—you need a master’s degree. I pushed myself to get formal, in-person teaching experience, and that’s where this faculty position came in. I also started laying the groundwork through a lot of volunteer experience, which I think many people do. Volunteering changes lives—in my case, through language acquisition—but let’s be honest, there’s a selfish reason too. People want to add it to their resume, gain experience, and build a foundation. For me, it was a combination of both.

I know I’ve made an impact on my students. Not to toot my own horn, but you hear it from them—especially adult English learners. They’re so appreciative, and it’s rewarding to see how thankful they are.

Building this foundation has tied into my goal of teaching overseas. I want to build as much repertoire as I can to make myself marketable in top destinations, like South Korea or Japan. These countries are kind of the “Holy Grail” of English teaching jobs, offering higher salaries, paid plane tickets, and often housing. That’s what keeps me motivated to finish my degree by the end of the year and start planning for what I hope will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Not just to visit, not for a vacation, but to live, work, and immerse myself in another culture.

I’ve never traveled outside of the United States, so I think this is an amazing opportunity. Seeing my students’ stories—many of whom have traveled with far fewer resources than I was born with—inspires me even more. They’ve gone through so much to make it to the United States or other places, or to learn in other environments. That motivates me. I feel like I’m sitting on this mantle of opportunity, and I want to go out and explore it. Others didn’t have the same advantages, but they still made it work.

Grateful.