Maisha Rounds and Zazil-xa Davis-Vazquez

00:02 I'm 42 years old. And today's date is Tuesday, May 18th, 2021. I'm in Cambridge, Massachusetts And my partner's name is Cecile. My conversation partner for today.

00:17 Hi, my name is Cecile, davis-vazquez. I'm 26 years old. Today's date is Tuesday, May 18th. 2021. I'm in Brooklyn New York and I'm here with Misha rounds. Who is my conversation partner.

00:31 Alright, Myesha. I am really excited to have you here really excited to interview. Thank you for being here. I wonder if you would like to start by telling me a little bit about where you grew up, what? That was like if you had any siblings, what your family was like. Oh, yes, I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston. When I was about a year old, that's where all of my roots are. My family, really neat. We can date our ancestry back to slavery in. So my ancestors actually were worked on the Grendel Plantation. My family now currently owns the land that my ancestors. Once worked on a piece of family history that you know, we're very very proud of and universe.

01:32 Wholehearted beliefs is that each generation should do better than the generation before. Maybe that's something that has driven me throughout my lifetime. So my family, my mother, my father, Daniel and Sandra Grant, and we grew up on a Barrier Island in Charleston, South Carolina, call James Island. Really need about the Barrier Island. That's where the Gullah culture is very rich and robust. It's a culture that in more modern times has become known as like a dying culture because the language has not been passed down as readily into to subsequent Generations. However, the food and the music is very much still alive. And so, we're looking at ways. Now, I'm in the, in the newer generations, to try to keep our culture alive and vibrant. And really, you know, embracing the language, embracing all aspects of without a heritage.

02:32 I also have two brothers and two sisters. My two brothers, and my two sisters. They actually are kind of spread out. Now. We all spend most of our lives down on James Island. And now that we've grown up, we're all in different places. I'm here in Massachusetts with a sister in Maryland. My brother is in one of my brothers in Pennsylvania and my other brother and sister stayed in South Carolina, but one big part of our family back together and you know, if they're like the big holidays and try to celebrate and connecting the wind embrace, all the great things there are to embrace about family and togetherness. If so spent most of my life in Charleston and my career as well. It was a teacher.

03:24 Florida. 16 years before stepping into school leadership. That's actually what brought me here to Cambridge Massachusetts to to pursue my career in school leadership, but along that path. I got married to a wonderful man. He's a military man army, and he Byron rounds. He's in the Army National Guard and we have four beautiful kids faith. Hope charity and Emmanuel and they are my reason for being there. My my reason why I do what I do and why I have a really deep into my commitments, in the field of education, on my believe, every child deserves to have the best educational experience and have an education that meets them where they are and health center in unlock their, their full potential of my husband and my four kids. We live here in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

04:24 And as much as we can, we try to continue bringing our our Gullah culture with us. My daughter's learn how to make Palmetto roses and five persons looking for Palm fronds tragically, does Palmetto roses and have them all over the house. I also have Sweetgrass baskets that I brought with me. I mean, I keep them on display in my office at work working at home as well as Sweetgrass necklace. That a friend of mine made for me that I I wear that has my, my kids names inscribed on. It says something very dear near and dear to me. But yeah, that's kind of who I am and where I'm from and that's amazing. I have so many questions about all of that. Well,

05:12 I want to know about how you met your husband. I want to know about you, and your Gullah culture and I, I was when you were talking about like, your family getting together and making that a real commitment. Can you paint a picture? Like what it's, like when your whole family's together back back at home?

05:32 Yes, my at my eyes, just lit up and I'm like, smiling from ear-to-ear. Cuz I right now we're in the middle of the pandemic or hopefully coming out of the pandemic. And so, we're looking forward to brighter days ahead when we can get back and reconnect. But our family gatherings are just full of Gullah food, like red rice Hoppin John and also just amazing music. I remember when I was younger every 4th of July, my family comes together. I mean, my cousin's, not just first cousins, but like second and third cousins like we're very closely knit family and we would get together. I just saying my that my granddad would play his electric guitar and sing. Bella songs gospel songs. It was just like a get-together shindig, and just having time to really connect with each other and the most, the most exciting part. I think for me, was I just began

06:32 In the Gullah language in like my grandparents be, getting to my parents, and my aunts and my uncles and it was okay to like drop those vowels in like just be able to just be who you are and you're all of your authenticity. And that was something that I really embraced during those, those family, gatherings or what it was Fourth of July or the West during made, a mile of the MayDay, Parade's some of the local churches that were really speaking. Gullah culture would often have I can Mayday Parade and we would have lots of colors that would like to come get decorated in just kind of drive down Granville Road in all of the, the folks who live in from the road with bring the chairs out, the lawn chairs. And just kind of sitting out there waving and there's always, you know, some sort of Mayday Parade Queen and there's like a king music going in, like, people throwing candy and I was like, every May Day in our family, we just turned into a big family BBQ.

07:32 It was just really, really fun ways to gather and come together. Whether it was through just that the celebration with are just our nuclear family or whatever. There was a celebration with a larger community on James Island. We always found ways to to Really, you know, Embrace who we are and connect with each other. It's food Fellowship, family fun. And of course, music was always hide and all of it. That sounds amazing. I'm so glad you have such that like, that strong family bond. What does it mean for you or what? Does it look like for you to have your kids be a part of that? Now like it sounds like you are really committed to you continuing that Heritage and solidifying it with your kids. So what does that look like? What does it look like at the beginning when they were babies? Like what was that like for you as I was sharing this?

08:32 Times that I would bring them out there and their strollers. And you know, when they were just learning how to walk and running around out playing with their cousins, while the MayDay Parade was going on and it was important for me to that for them to be able to connect with, you know, they're their family members who also share this very rich Heritage and for them to be immersed, in the language to hear it spoken often times, when we, you know, whenever we worked with family, we would include switch. And so like we spoke The King's English. She knows, we were dropping those vowels. We were pronouncing every letter. I'm exactly as described, but when we were together with family, it was okay to, you know, to say those words and Gatlin and into embrace it as a language and not have it be called broken English inside. One of my kids know that that's okay and it was really fun. Also just to be able to have other families who had kids the same age and we're also kind of being

09:32 Rapping that culture are a little piece of earlier in this, this particular interview where my children, learn how to make Palmetto roses. We spent a lot of time in Downtown Charleston, Monica Sweetgrass basket makers. Actually we were talking into like

09:54 River Plantation are really the one with the family and I like we all connected but by knowing the names of our ancestors and then realized we had to share a culture so, you know, one of the major share with my children. Do you want to know how to make Palmetto roses? Cuz like this is something that we do, you know, and it's really important that we continue this from that at Sweetgrass basket maker in Downtown, Charleston and which was awesome. Because I had never learned how to make it when I was a kid. So I couldn't someone else and they kept at it. And my oldest daughter got really, really good at it and she started making them and we moved up here to Massachusetts. It was really important for her to her, that she wanted to continue making those those roses and be able to share it with some of her new friends that she found here. And when she met lots of friends from other countries, other cultures in other language,

10:54 She really began to embrace her Della Heritage and realize it. I don't have to feel ashamed of it, because of course, coming from the Deep South. There is also very much racism is alive. And well, I'm in our country, but even more. So, in some parts of the South and we were often made to feel ashamed because of how we spoke or, because of different parts of our culture. And so that's where we would codes, which often. But we came up here, interesting, Lee enough when we left our our our our our network of family members. We found not only did we have course miss them and miss having that sense of connection, but we were able to find ways to keep it alive and keep it well here with us and that we didn't have to be ashamed because

11:49 We have a culture that we can own as our own just as so many others have a culture in there for a long time, actually down south. The Gullah culture was not acknowledged as a culture. The language was not actually acknowledged as a language until 2016. I'm by the school district. And so that was really glad that was finally recognized. But the fact that, that didn't happen until 2016 was really interesting to me, but I think having the opportunity to see other cultures alive and well, does the others really proud of their culture that really helped instill a sense of Pride for my own children that while we have our own culture and our own Heritage and we don't have to be ashamed of it. We don't have to hide it and we can like, say it loud and proud. That's amusing. Okay, so I guess, let's rewind. Can you tell me about

12:46 How you met your husband and what it was like at the beginning of that and maybe what you thought of him in the beginning, just like that. Grew up in church, part of our heritage is a very deeply buried. My husband actually is not a part of the Gullah culture, but he married into it and so like he's adopted a lot of it and, and, and he owns it. And I really appreciate that. But we grew up in Sister church is basically my church was once affiliated with his church, and my parents actually were under the leadership of his Pastor for the better. Part of my childhood is. So after my parents, like later on and launch their own Ministry and started their own church.

13:46 I went on so kind of, you know, I was with my parents attending their church. And then my husband later on at 8 before he was my husband. He was the youth minister at at his church. I was the youth minister at my church. In our church is always continue. Connecting continue fellowshipping, but I never actually crossed paths with him until I think it was my maybe some of my junior or senior year of college. When I came back to Lita a used. I'm workshop and a youth Revival that were doing and then his church was also fellowshipping during that same period of time and we cross paths and interesting Lee enough. I was like what we actually were fellowshipping. Our churches were fellowshipping all these years, but we had never actually met each other which I thought was kind of funny. He thought was the funniest thing as well, but we had a lot in common. We had a lot of a lot of our shared passions were for supporting

14:46 You stand really helping them find their voice and to really grow both spiritually and in terms of growing in their character and that so we really connected and bonded around matter around. Our love for children. Have passion for educating children. Not just in one way, but kind of educating the whole child.

15:09 So I think that kind of we hit it off, you know, and we started talking and before we knew it like we were like really connecting and

15:20 I don't know what it seems. I think it was like a whirlwind romance if you will because in I think it was only a matter of maybe a year or two of talking and not officially dating, but we called. According at the time we realized, I thought I knew he was the one and you know, I was the one and we were like well if we both know it then are we get married? And so I think we were engaged for about 3 months and then the rest is history were still together and we got our four, beautiful kids and we're just excited about doing Ministry together.

15:58 That's amazing. I think it's funny that you

16:03 Had kind of known maybe not even known about each other, but we're definitely in the same orbit could just talk about each other and then one once you saw each other it seems like it was pretty quick. Okay, so tell me about your work as a teacher. I also want to know about you know what it's like for you being a family member for someone who's in the service. So you tell me what you want to talk about. First. Sure. I'm talking about my husband. I'm so actually when we first met it was right at the beginning of his military service. He just gone into basic training and he told me about his aspirations, to be an army chaplain and

17:03 Long distance romances. Like they don't work out but aren't really started as a long-distance romance. I've lived in one city. And he was, like, 300 miles away in another city and then he got taken away for basic training and then. So, like we were never really in the same physical location, but I think we have a spiritual connection. And, you know, so the only being able to kind of connect around his military service, I think was also a big factor. I really enjoyed hearing about how he was, how is willing to sacrifice so much for a country, his love of God. And love of country were first and foremost, and I found that really inspiring. And so, you know, what to do to get to know more about him and, and his service and, you know, over the years, like you, you know, we've been married almost 20 years and he has like, he has maintained that that solid love for God. And for country.

18:03 He was deployed back in 2010 of Afghanistan during operation, enduring freedom. And that was a challenge for us for our family for him to be gone for 15 months in a war-torn country. Like so much uncertainty, not knowing.

18:23 If and when he be able to come back home to us and would he be the same? You know, how would things be? And so, you know, we whether those challenges and I think in those moments it was we were able to kind of revisit how we started. How we first met like the letter writing campaign started up again, when he was in Afghanistan, and it took us both back to when we first met and how we writing letters when he was in basic training. And so there were ways that's kind of like Revitalize our relationship. And like I said, the military service has its share of town just because not having your loved one having to live in all this uncertainty and be essentially being like a single mom that was working full-time and having to take care of at the time we had three kids. It was no really really hard, but I appreciate it. That the military did have a lot of you know, supports available for for spouses and loved ones. I think for me one.

19:23 Share with like anyone who would ask is when you think a service member for his service. Be sure to thank their family. Be sure to thank the wife, be sure to thank the children because that sacrifice of that service members making is also X. Because every, every family member is making that sacrifice as well. And, you know, so the kids being able to know the Daddy's off serving his country to make the world, a better place for some other little boys and girls who might not be as fortunate. It was a lot for them to process, but I think it helped them to grow in a lot of ways. It was during that time that our Mantra became our family is a team, so we can work together and we're going to make this, make this work and my oldest daughter. We were talking a few weeks ago and that came back to her. She said, Mommy. I always remember you saying.

20:23 Is deployed or when he was an annual training? You know, I just remember always wanting to pull together because we're a team and so, I believe his military service made us all better and stronger and wiser.

20:36 Wow, that's so powerful. Having that bond with each other as a unit as a small family unit. I know you have like a really strong bond with the rest of your family, but it seems like your husband service. Definitely like Ty and your bond as a as a smaller family unit. Can you talk a little bit about what I wanted to hear more about the letters? Like when he first went off to phase of training, do you remember any particular, like silly stories are really an intense thing, but things that you were really struck by that he was going through with that. You wanted to be there for 4. And yeah, I think one thing that struck me was the sense of isolation that he felt that he noticed. Other soldiers often felt when he was either deployed or in basic training or later on. He went to Chipotle at the Tappan Zee training and he was gone for three months and so like in those times he said those letters.

21:36 Lifeline in the soldiers who didn't get any letters. So when he was in Afghanistan, that really resonated with me and so our letter writing campaign extended Beyond just writing letters to him. I was able at the time I was working as a teacher at at an elementary school and I was like, well, I do I get my students to start writing letters to all the soldiers in his unit and we'd started doing that and the soldiers and is going to stay. So appreciated. My husband gave me such, you know, positive, overwhelmingly, positive feedback. I thought, you know what, we can extend this to our entire School Community. Like we've got a lot of kids in that hundreds of kids who got lots of soldiers deployed. I don't recall get in on the action. So we ended up doing the school-wide letter writing campaign, and end up mailing letters overseas. And we also started sending books overseas because they were working on supporting literacy and teaching English to a lot of the, the children.

22:36 I'm, as they were rebuilding, some of the war-torn areas. I'm so we started it up donating books to the kids as well. And so, what started as me writing letters and him writing letters to me like to brew and took a life of its own 10 years into our relationship, once he was deployed. And I think it, but we experience allowed others to experience like this. This massive show love and support you. That's that's something I just I want to be able to continue bringing forward to any other soldiers were deployed. Military families, going through the same thing, take your challenges and transform them into into Triumph, transform them into opportunities, with obstacles in the opportunities that others can benefit from.

23:26 Wow, when you said let her campaign earlier, I thought you meant it as a metaphor.

23:33 Initially, it was metaphorical and then it grew into a literal letter writing campaign. So. Wow. Wow, I wonder, I just, I am literally just imagining some of the soldiers faces that they like. I don't know what grade will. You said the whole school at a certain point, but I'm of course, imagining like backwards letters and like, you know, really really adorable stuff like that. That's very sweet. So, the most talked about, how you decided to become a teacher. It sounds like you were involved pretty early on in your life with that sort of muscle in yourself. So when did you decide to actually, you know, make it a whole career started started with me as a student of color? A little black girl. Coming through the public school system and, you know, having experienced, you know, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

24:33 All of it, you know, I was at a very gifted student, but it wasn't always recognized readily. When I was initially at an urban Interstate, 80 school. I was, you know, star students in my teachers recognized like she she's going places and entered kindergarten. And first grade reading well, above grade level that had teachers, who were really wanting to push me to the really reach my full potential. I was the spelling bee champ, but then in second grade my family moved into the suburbs and so then I transferred into a school is demographic, makeup was very, very different from my first couple of years in school. And so is a predominantly white school and I found myself off. Sometimes the only person in the classroom who look like me and my first year in school, I remember is like I couldn't do anything, right? Like, if I wanted to play with students, they didn't like how it played.

25:33 You tell the teacher and the teacher didn't like how I play that. She knew I came from that Urban school. So I was sent to recess detention like almost everyday in my second grade year and I remember feeling like, what am I doing wrong? Why can't I why can't I make friends? Why can't anyone play with me? And I had a principal who, who actually had been the vice principal at my previous school. And she asked one day, when I was sent to the office for allegedly, stealing an eraser from up here, which I had not stolen, the Eraser. I was trying to play with him and I tried to give it back to him and he was like, you stole the teachers of his word over mine and I landed in the principal's office with a yellow Behavior slip, which was an office referral and the principal to me. She said what?

26:21 You were the star student at our, our last school. I remember you. And I was so floored that she remembered me by name and she remembered that you might have been the spelling bee champion, and she wanted to connect with me and she's like, this isn't you? I know this isn't who you are and so she took that yellow slip and she I can't make friends at this new school. Nobody likes me and I don't fit in and she just sent a listening ear and a lot of support and going to work together with my teachers. And by the next year, they were able to date. Identified that I was a very gifted student and recommended me for the advanced placement program. It was actually a sale test. I tested into the program and I was able to be challenged in in new ways. And like I turned the corner. I felt like I had felt like I had a friend in me.

27:21 Principal. Who had she knew me. I'm as a student and

27:27 I wanted to be able to pay that forward. I never imagined that I'd find myself in the principal one day, but I wanted to pay it forward to other children and I so I wanted to do that. However, I thought I was going to do it by 5 for equity and Justice in the courtroom. And so I was like, I'm going to be at school. I was like, I know what I want to do. I'm going to fight for equity and Justice in the courtroom, and I want to get my law degree, and I'm going to make sure these policies are, you know, the address the needs of students send, you know, that, you know, people of color are treated equally and fairly and in every contest and every environment, whether it's cool or whether it's at work, or that kind of thing, but I did a teaching pre-service practicum my senior year and the shift in my fridge, my trajectory. I went to a special education classroom of students with profound.

28:27 And I learned so much from the students that year. I learned the power of unconditional positive regard. And I learned that our forgiveness and I realize every child can learn every child has so much in them. If only teachers or willing to see it. And so, that's what I made up my mind. I feel like I will be a teacher and I went to college and got my degree in special education and, you know, Mike on the teach students who were had mild to moderate and some with severe disabilities. And I also after I started after I got married, I think around the same time that I got married. I my husband, you know, head, you know, he's going to his basic training. So like we were looking at ways to merge with

29:27 We're both doing like his Services, active service to his country in the military and I was like, I want to serve my country as well. And I realize I could do that. I could fight for equity and Justice in the classroom as opposed to the courtroom. So we, you know, began doing a lot of head wrap around support for children outside of the traditional school day, in outside of the Four Walls of the school that my husband had a Ministry called Super Saturday, Outreach. And we went off and go to parks and playgrounds in. Like, we'd have liked these. Just wonderful events with lots of singing, food, Bible stories that we share with the kids and opportunities for them to build character to connect with each other and build communities. And I was, I was really excited to be able to do that.

30:19 And then we started having our own children and this like change. Perspective. In fact, motherhood baptize me even deeper into this, this world of of education and meeting kids where they are. And so, with my fortunes, I found, you know, that they all had different learning styles. Different learning abilities. I'm Different gifts as well as different challenges. So from ADHD and anxiety to dyslexia and autism. Like, I might, my kids were across the entire spectrum of where children can fall. And I realized there, there's a lot of support that needs to be provided to every child in. It can't be a one-size-fits-all approach. And so, as a teacher, it really challenged me.

31:07 To try to be for each child, what they needed in the moment. And I did that just by seeing the faces of my children, in each of my students. And even seeing myself in each of my students, that student who would act out in the times. I thought about sending a child to the principal's office. I will reflect on my second grade self when I was being sent to the principal's office and realizing my teacher. Miss me. Am I misunderstanding this child. Let me take a step back and I think flash board yet Beyond, you know, those teaching years. So I've spent 16 years teaching. I wanted to hold my teaching skills and really make sure I was meeting every child's needs. So that really pressed me to become a national board-certified teacher. Later was named as a district teacher of the year State teacher of the year nominee. And I wasn't doing it for the accolades. It really was all about meeting students where they are to help them reach their full potential.

32:03 And I realized I wanted to make a much broader impact Beyond just the four walls. My classroom is so that's what pushed me into school leadership and becoming an elementary school principal. And then that's, we're circling back to my opening story. I thought about the principal who was there for me and helped change my whole trajectory in education, had she not been there. What I've turned out to be such a promising student is so how can I be there for my students? How can I also be that for my teacher's? So that's why I do what I do and you know why? I'm passionate to keep on moving and opening doors for others. That's amazing. Well, first of all, thank you for all of that. Cuz I just feel like the effort that you're putting into it is probably so necessary for all those kids. But so I guess my next question is, what are you proud of?

32:57 Good question.

33:00 I mentioned some awards and accolades of a few Publications, but honestly, those things are not what I'm most proud of. I'm actually proud of my students that their ability to to survive and thrive in spite of unsteady circumstances. I'm thinking about my students, this year, through the pandemic. I'm thinking about some of my students who I taught in the, the urban inner-city school where we didn't always have the resources or access to things to help them be successful, how they were still able to overcome obstacles. So for me, I think I'm proudest, most of my students.

33:42 When they're able to survive thrive in overtime and transform those obstacles and opportunities and they do. So beyond the four walls of my classroom, and Beyond The Four Walls of my school building. I want to continue learning and growing and doing great things for years to come in. I think. But I have felt most rewarded by is when I students come back to me and I like I remember when you said, that's why you're busy. I remember when you taught me this and I remember when you, you said a quitter, never wins and a winner. Never quits like bringing those things back to me and now they're like, graduated from high school and they're going off to college and pursuing a dream that I'm letting, you know, those are the things that I think I'm proudest most, we might have more time for more. But my last question for you is what are your dreams for your children?

34:37 I was just thinking about that when I was sharing with you. I was proud of my dreams for my children. I want them to pursue their passions and fulfill their purpose in life. And I want them to, you know, to realize that there's just this great wide wonderful world that God has blessed us with. And, you know, I want them to feel free to go do the Explorer but most of all I want them, you know, to keep God first and to pursue the things that

35:20 Are most passionate about.

35:23 Perfect. We have 5 minutes left. Is there anything that you would like to add before we finish that I didn't ask you about?

35:32 How can I can think of, I think? I feel like I've covered a lot of ground. Apologize. If I wear, this may be going off on a tangent. A little here and there. But I'm really passionate about something, really excited about something. You don't even feel like it's definitely worth sharing. One thing. I would like to leave with folks in the future, anyone who might be listening to this later on is, you know, just to know that you have what it takes and while life will throw you all kinds of curveballs. We don't know what life will look like years from now. We never knew that you never expect to be in a pandemic right now as we speak, but in each of these challenges that are thrown our way that you can take,

36:32 Take these obstacles and and transform them into opportunities in transporting challenges and triumphs and over, and really make something great out of something that was, you know, really challenging. I think, one thing that I've noticed in this pandemic, we had, there are a lot of systemic inequities that were that have existed, you know, and I'm making just for hundreds of years in American society and I think the pandemic surfaced, a lot of those and put them right front and center in our faces and it really cause kind of like, how how how do we dress this. And so looking at how in the in the education field, we've risen to the challenge in some ways I'm like really had to redesign educational system overnight and now many schools now have the one for 1 a.m. Technology Program. Where every student has access to technology and every student has access to internet Wi-Fi, some way shape or form that didn't exist.

37:33 Over a year ago before the pandemic started. So I would love for us as we move forward into the future. Look at ways that we can continue to innovate ignite and expire Inspire change because that's where it's at and pleasure speaking with you Myesha.

37:51 Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoy this time together. I'm glad