Oct. 23, 2023 | Vince Lara-Cinisomo
Shelby Keye in spring 2024 will join the faculty of the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health as an assistant professor after completing her doctoral degree. Keye spoke about teaching at her alma mater, her research influences and the college’s diversity initiatives.
Q: Is there pressure to return as faculty after just completing your Ph.D., without going to a different university first?
A: I would say so. Some of that pressure is internal. I just want to do as well as a faculty member as I did as a student. When I was doing my interview for the job, I wanted to make sure that the faculty was seeing me as more than just a student. I wanted them to be able to envision me as a collaborator and not just on the same level as the other students. There was an added level of pressure there because they’ve seen me in the last four years as a student. So I had to essentially convince them that I could go beyond that, and they could become my colleagues.
Q: Do you have any concerns about how students will approach you, given you are so close in age?
A: Sure. Keeping things professional is always good. I do think that beyond my age, there’s another added level to it is being a woman, too. There’s extra barriers required to have students view a young woman as their superior as a professional—strategies to just make sure that I keep up with my own coursework, making sure I’m on top of my own stuff, so they respect me. If I’m falling behind, then they fall behind as well. Making sure that I’m staying on top of lessons, grading, staying on track. It’ll be a challenge, and I’ll learn.
Q: What are your research influences?
A: Probably a series of fortunate and some unfortunate events. I grew up as an athlete. I did gymnastics for most of my life, did cheerleading later on in high school and college. So I appreciate the positive benefits of staying active. I’ve always loved working with children. My first job was as a preschool teacher. Ever since then, I’ve just really enjoyed working with children. In terms of the cognitive health piece, I didn’t know much about it until I started working with [mentor and KCH Associate Professor] Naiman [Khan]. I was interested in working with children. I had worked with children in low-income schools during my master’s. Because of that relationship between cognition and academics, I was drawn towards working with Naiman. The unfortunate piece in terms of life is that I have a family history of obesity, heart disease, cancer and dementia. That all stems from poor health behaviors, poor diet, low physical activity. Those are some motivating factors with studying what I study.
Q: How did you get connected with Naiman?
A: That was just a cold email to him. I was in my master’s [program]. I was finishing up. I knew I wanted to do a Ph.D. My dad actually told me to look at schools in Illinois. He did some work at U. of I. while he was in his grad program. He did not graduate from here. But he had done some work here over the summers with a collaborating lab. And he just said, ‘Take a look at Illinois. They have good programs. They have a long history of excellent research.’ I looked at the kinesiology department, and Naiman was really the only person doing the type of work that I was interested in. And I sent him an email. Good timing [since] he was looking for someone that could help with running a summer physical activity program, and I was the person that he chose.
Q: The college has the most diverse student body on campus, but is lacking in diversity in terms of faculty. Was that part of your decision-making process?
A: That’s a good question. I thought about it a little bit, but I can’t say it was a big, driving factor. That was actually something that I thought about more as a student when I was applying for Ph.D. programs. Two things, actually: being a female and then being a part of a marginalized group of color. That played a role in terms of where I chose to go to school. Dr. Susan Aguiñaga, who’s in KCH, she’s a [Latina], and she and I had a conversation briefly about it. We recognized there’s still room to grow. But I think part of that starts with us. I do think that moving forward, it would help the department if women like Susie and I recruited students that were of similar groups and encouraged them to apply for graduate schools and enter academia, too. I understand that from a student’s perspective, it can be discouraging. But you kind of have to have some courage to enter this space so other people can see you in that space. I did think about it briefly. But I thought about it more as an opportunity and not necessarily as a negative thing. I just thought, ‘OK, well, if they need somebody to represent my group, I can do that.’ And I want to do that. And hopefully, I can bring other women of color with me as I go through my academic journey.
Q: What made you want to teach?
A: I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to work with kids. I’ve always liked to lead and share and learn. I think that the academic setting is the best place to do that. I come from a long line of teachers. My grandparents were teachers. A lot of my aunts and uncles are teachers. My dad taught a little bit while he was at the Naval Academy. Maybe it’s just something that’s in me. I enjoy learning. I’ve always liked school, and I like to share what I learn. And doing research is the learning part. And then teaching is sharing what I have learned.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from Naiman, as a mentor?
A: Something that comes to mind is Naiman is very self-aware. What I mean by that is that he knows what he’s good at, and he knows what he’s not so great at. He really hones in on those strengths and stays away from the weaknesses. But I think that makes him a really good mentor because he knows what he can do for us, and he is very honest. That’s just a level of humility that he has that I think is really good as a mentor and as a researcher, especially in a university where we have to write grants all the time to get funding for research. Humility is necessary with that because you’re getting denied almost all the time. It’s a field filled with ‘nos.’ What I’ve learned is to try to maintain my humility, and really hone in on my strengths, and focus on those, and build those up, and accept that I have weaknesses, but not to dwell on those because I can build my research around what I’m good at.
Editor’s note:
To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu.
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