GTU Voices - Interview | Antoinette Bailey, Presidential Scholarship Recipient

Antoinette Bailey is a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year. Join us in welcoming her to the GTU!

GTU: What were the formative influences in your life—people, places, experiences—that led you to where you are today? 

Antoinette Bailey: My relationship with God has been the driving force of my interests, involvements, and the overall journey that has led me here. Because of my faith, I’m committed to loving and serving others. I’ve done this all my life by supporting youth in the children’s ministries of the churches I’ve attended, working in various education nonprofits across Los Angeles, and teaching at a middle school in Long Beach Unified School District for 3 years. In these next steps, I want to take a theological approach to that work and incorporate my faith in my commitment to serve. 

Over the years I’ve been shaped and poured into by my mom, my high school teacher, Mrs. Summers, my college professors Dr. Carbone from USC and Dr. Golden from CSULB, as well as Rev. Dr. Leon Wood and Paula Wood, founders of the nonprofit Success In Challenges where I had the privilege of working for nearly 6 years. These people have loved, supported, and taught me in ways that have contributed to who and where I am today. 

GTU: How would you describe your academic interests? 

AB: My academic interests include liberation theology and contextual theology which prioritizes the wellbeing of children and their families. Stemming from my background in education, I also seek to incorporate critical pedagogy into this work. I’m drawn to research methods like ethnography and action research to understand the communities I wish to serve and partner with them to create tangible change. 

GTU: What drew you to attend GTU for your Doctoral studies? 

AB: One of the reasons I was drawn to the GTU was because of specific faculty, particularly my advisor Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble. In addition, the GTU’s focus on justice aligns with my own mission; I saw how I could develop a greater understanding of my faith tradition and gain an interreligious perspective of other beliefs that call for justice. Because of all the member schools that comprise the GTU and the school’s connection with UC Berkeley, I knew I would have abundant resources and opportunities to pursue my interests. 

GTU: What are you most looking forward to in your Doctoral studies at the GTU? 

AB: In these next 5 years, I’m looking forward to the people I’ll connect with, the courses I’ll take, and the opportunities to connect what I’m learning in the classroom with work in the community. I believe that my doctoral studies will equip me with the skills needed to tackle pressing issues today—problems that stem from poverty and are reflected in education, unemployment, housing, and urban life. At the GTU I seek to become a greater scholar, activist, leader, and above all else: servant.