The flowers are blooming, spring is sprung, and classes are getting harder–welcome to March, everybody. With March comes Women’s History Month, and with Women’s History Month comes a time to appreciate the inspirational women in our own lives. For me, one of those women is Dr. Natasha Altema McNeely, a political science professor here at the University of North Texas. Dr. McNeely is new to UNT–she only started teaching here since last semester, and already she is making a big impact in her students’ lives and their interest in political science. Her classes are engaging, full of discussion, and provide a space for students to openly discuss and analyze current events. But what has her path looked like, and what advice does she have for students interested in political science? I interviewed her to find out.
Career Journey
Dr. McNeely didn’t always know she was going to be a professor. In fact, at the beginning of her undergrad at Berry College, she thought she would go to law school. “That had been my dream since I was little,” McNeely said. “I never changed majors in undergrad, but I did change my career path.” One of the major influences for this change was her mother. “Growing up, my mom was a teacher, and she taught kids as little as pre-K age all the way through community college. I was always so inspired by her. Her students really responded to her–we would be in the supermarket and a random adult would come up to her and be like, ‘You were my teacher and I’ve done so well thanks to you!’” Seeing the influence of her mom on students helped Dr. McNeely realize that she wanted to have that same kind of impact on students of her own. With the guidance of her advisor, she went straight from graduation at Berry to a PhD program at the University of Iowa. After her PhD, her first job was at the University of Texas Pan American (now UTRGV), where she worked for almost 11 years.
Teaching Experiences
In her short time as a professor at UNT and her long time at UTRGV, Dr. McNeely has had a profound impact on several students’ lives. Her favorite experiences have all been related to teaching. Some students have gone to law school, others to graduate school, and others still are thriving in their current careers. “I’m Facebook friends with some of them, and seeing them with their families and talking about their careers has been really cool.” She’s also affecting students in her current classes, such as myself: the discussions in her political science class have helped me be more confident getting involved in politics. Not only has she bettered the lives of her students, but she has had the opportunity to do research. “Seeing [my research] flourish, and being able to talk to people about some aspects of my research–that’s been pretty rewarding.”
Research Focus and Achievements
Dr. Altema McNeely is right–her research is super interesting. Much of her work is dedicated to studying Latino public opinion, specifically public opinion of those who live on the US-Mexico border. “Some of the data that we collected were from residents from four counties along the border. We asked different questions about their added attitudes towards various issues and their vote choice.” She has had multiple publications on the topic.
A few years ago, however, Dr. McNeely got interested in Black maternal health and how officials have tried to address this issue. Specifically, she has started looking at “how Black female mayors have tried to address Black maternal health in each of their respective cities. That has led to me taking a more broad view of how Black female mayors govern, especially how they govern cities where Blacks are no longer the majority population.” To me, this research is probably even more interesting, especially because it examines how Black female mayors are actively taking steps to reduce mortality rates and how their identities are critical in making those changes.
Advice for Aspiring Political Scientists and Lawyers
Dr. Altema McNeely often gets asked, “What can I do with a political science degree?” When I asked her the same question, she gave me some advice that she’s given to countless students before. “I think the biggest piece of advice that I would give to any potential majors is just to really think outside of the box,” Dr. McNeely said. “Don’t just think that, ‘Oh, all I can do is go to law school or grad school.’ No, you can actually go into all kinds of research oriented jobs. You can go into governing jobs, into law-making jobs, you can work for the national government, state government, local government. There’s a whole different world out there beyond law school or grad school.” Of course, law school and grad school are still great options, but Dr. McNeely would give the advice that she could have used when she was entering undergrad: you can do so much more than you think.
Inspirational Women in Dr. McNeely’s Life
In the spirit of Women’s History Month, my final question to Dr. Altema McNeely was about the inspirational women in her own life. Her mom was, of course, one of her biggest inspirations; not only as her mother, but also as a successful teacher and administrator who immigrated to the US from Haiti. The way her mom taught was about “more than just teaching them the curriculum. Her students came from various backgrounds, including economic backgrounds, and she would try to help them out personally as well. That’s really helped me learn what compassion is and how to see a person beyond their struggles.” She has also been inspired by female mentors that she’s met along the way. Dr. Sharon Wright Austin, a professor at the University of Florida, is one of these people. “She’s really helped to push research on Black female mayors forward, especially in the last several years. She’s also been very instrumental as an expert witness in lawsuits related to voting rights. I’ve heard her talk about some of the challenges she’s encountered with some backlash since that, but she’s been able to persevere.” Dr. McNeely pulls a lot of inspiration from the people she has met throughout her career, from their work and their personal stories. I know she will become one of those inspirational people for me. By hearing her story, I hope she can inspire you too.