Dr. Melissa Burney graduated from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky on Friday, May 7th, with a Doctorate of Arts in English Pedagogy & Teaching/English Literature and Philosophy. Burney is the librarian and yearbook sponsor for Lewis County High School. She also teaches Dual Enrollment English courses for Bethel University at the high school and works as an adjunct English and literature instructor for UT Martin online and the UTM Parsons Center.

After graduation, Burney plans to continue teaching English Composition and literature courses while also working at LCHS. She says her greatest accomplishment has been creating a capstone that has influenced a restructuring of her future courses to include writing conferences. Conferences have breathed new life into this veteran teacher of 18 years. She learned something of what it is to be a competitive bass angler with dreams of a medical career, how insecurity and stress plague even the most outwardly confident people, what it means to put education first, and how heartbreaking it can be to be in a family torn apart. She laughed with her students and on some occasions even wanted to cry, but the main thing is that she heard them, which is something special.

Burney especially wants to thank her family, friends, coworkers, and students for all of the love, support, and encouragement they provided during the last three years working on this degree. She stated that she could not have done it without them. She feels very fortunate to live and work in Hohenwald.

From Dr. Sara Cooper, Department of English & Philosophy: Dr. Burney brings a tremendous amount of heart to her work as an educator, which makes her scholarly and teacherly projects powerful. She also brings her students to life, both through the compelling digital stories she creates and through her thoughtful approach to every student interaction.