Tracy Britt helps West Point students find their futures

Despite being a recent addition to West Point High School, Tracy Britt is making a long-term impact on the future of West Point. Since October of this past year, Britt has been working as a career coach at West Point High School. Every day, she helps students find their future career paths and helps them to start off adult life on the right foot.

“Some people want to think of us as guidance counselors, but we're not that. They handle a lot of the state testing and some other issues,” said Britt. “We try to stay in our lane and to be an extra resource for students. We also work with the guidance counselors to make sure our students are ready for their careers.”

Britt is originally from Pontotoc and graduated from Pontotoc High School, where she met her high school sweetheart and husband Joey. Her whole life, Britt knew that she wanted to work in education in some capacity.

“I tell my kids this story all the time, but when I was little, I used to play with my dolls and arrange them like they were students in a classroom. And I made tests for them and took them for them and graded them. I knew very early on that I wanted to be a teacher,” Britt said.

After her high school graduation, Britt decided to attend Mississippi University for Women, where she got a degree in secondary education with a focus on history and English. After finishing her degree, she and her husband moved to Savannah, Georgia to help her husband pursue his career. While in Savannah, Britt began teaching middle school and high school. She taught in Georgia for over a decade.

In 2012, Britt returned to the Golden Triangle. She and her husband moved to Columbus, where she worked at both a public and private high school for several years. However, she eventually decided that she wanted a change. In the fall of 2022, she heard about an opening at a new program with AccelerateMS to become a career coach.

“I just wanted to try something new, and I just felt a little more limited in a classroom. I had to teach the curriculum that everyone had to teach,” said Britt. “But being a career coach focuses more on helping students find their pathway for their careers. That can be college or the military or the workforce, but I get to help them plan for their futures.”

Since leaving classroom teaching and becoming a career coach, Britt's favorite part of the job has been working with students. Whether it is through aptitude tests, shadowing opportunities, or other support methods, Britt helps students to find a career they will enjoy after high school. Together, she and her fellow career coach, Beth Hood, enjoy getting to guide students toward productive futures and away from the stress that comes with entering adult life.

“When a kid comes in and has no idea what they want to do, and they're seniors, I get a chance to point them towards the different career clusters

ways to help students, some of whom did not have access to a computer or internet at home. We worked around the obstacles they faced to make things happen.”

Johnson's presentation will take place at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, during the March 5- 7 Region 4 Conference of NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.

Johnson was awarded a Region 4 Conference Travel Scholarship in the amount of $300 to offset costs associated with attending the conference and will be recognized along with other NACADA scholarship recipients during the event.

“I am elated and supportive of Dr. Renyetta,” Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success Dr. Nikita AshfordAshworth said. “The fact that she was chosen as a presenter and scholarship recipient for the NACADA Region 4 Conference is a testament to her dedication to the field of academic advising, EMCC and the students she serves.”

NACADA promotes student success through excellence in academic advising in higher education. The organization is comprised of 10 regions. Johnson is a member of Region 4, which encompasses Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, as well as Puerto

East Mississippi Community College Instructional Advisor and Accessibility Resource Services Liaison Dr. Renyetta Johnson will be among the presenters at the Region 4 Conference of NACADA, which will take place March 5-7 in Huntsville, Alabama. (Submitted Photo)

Rico, the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean nations.

Johnson and her five siblings were raised in Sweet Water, Alabama, which is located about 60 miles southeast of Meridian. She attended nearby University of West Alabama, where she earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Teaching. She later completed her doctorate at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Johnson knew at an early age that she wanted to teach thanks to the influence of two teachers. One of those teachers was Johnson's mother and the other was a fifth-grade history teacher who made learning both informative and fun.

After completing her studies at UWA, Johnson accepted a position as a teacher at Northeast Middle School in Lauderdale County, where she worked for nine years.

“I was also working as an adjunct instructor at EMCC while in the K-12 setting,” Johnson said. “I felt like I wanted to make a change and transition fulltime into higher education.”

In July of 2015, she accepted a full- time position at EMCC, where her husband, Dr. Jairus Johnson, is dean of instruction for the Scooba campus. The couple resides in Collinsville with their children, Jaida, 8, and Jairus II, who turns 3 later this month.

Among other things, Renyetta Johnson is tasked with reaching and retaining students and helping them overcome educational barriers they may encounter. She said her role as an advisor is both challenging and rewarding and requires a willingness to develop a rapport with students, while offering them advice and encouragement.

“A big part of advising is listening and hearing them when they share their stories or experiences,” Renyetta Johnson said. “I always want to make sure I am being a good steward of the resources we have available and that those resources are used in a way that is best for our students.”