The transition from Southern hospitality to rural Pennsylvania cordiality has been easy, according to Kelton Edmonds, a new history professor at California University of Pennsylvania.
"So far, so good," he said. "Everyone has been very welcoming and warm."
Edmonds, a native of Portsmouth, Va., is teaching African-American history and the history of sports in his first semester at Cal U.
A self-professed sports junkie, he wanted to coach basketball. But he decided he did not want to teach physical education, he said.
Instead, he chose history because, he said, "I've always had a knack for it."
Edmonds received his bachelor's and master's degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He said he chose A&T because it's a historically black college. He majored in secondary education with a social science emphasis.
While at A&T, he had a mentor who inspired him to apply to graduate school. He picked the University of Missouri because people there wanted him, and he wanted to work with the university's professors.
There, he earned his doctoral degree in 20th century U.S. history, with a dissertation on black student activism in the 1960s.
Edmonds said he chose African-American history because he has always had a general curiosity for it.
"It isn't taught with regular history," he said, "so I wanted to learn more than what was being offered in classes."
As he tells it, "I've always been cognizant of the past struggle of my people and feel indebted to those who paved the way for me."
He said he also feels he bears some responsibility for African-Americans of the future.
"I feel the need to pave the way for them as well," he said.
He credits his father, Curtis, as being his inspiration. The senior Edmonds worked full time at a shipyard while also attending college and working as a pastor. But Edmonds said his father always found time to come to his basketball games.
Edmonds said he enjoyed being a pastor's son. Although he said it was time-consuming and involved a lot of travel, "I wouldn't trade it."
He said it taught him lessons in devotion, empathy and love. Nevertheless, he admitted he lacks the patience to deal with other people's problems.
"I don't like to always have to be the voice of positivity," he said.
His favorite aspect of teaching, he said, is the interaction with students.
"My least favorite aspect," he said, "is not having enough time to do the things you'd like to do. You have to pick and choose which things to teach."
The person, living or dead, he said he would most like to meet is Marcus Garvey, a crusader for black nationalism.
"I think he's the most important African-American figure of the 20th century," he explained. "I would ask him, 'What do you think of the state of black America today?'"
In his spare time, Edmonds said he likes to travel to places such as Las Vegas and Rio De Janeiro.
In 10 years, Edmonds said, "Hopefully, I'll have my student loans paid off, hopefully, I'll have a family of my own, and hopefully, I'll own an NBA franchise."
Kate Feick, 24, is a senior from Elizabeth majoring in journalism.
