Looking at Lone Star College-North Harris up close reveals more than 1,100 employees fulfilling the college's mission at LSC-North Harris and LSC-East Aldine Center. Their collective experience and dedication make the college a standout in higher education. One of those employees is Devethia Guillory.
Teachers are often known for shaping and influencing the lives of their students – day after day, semester after semester, and year after year. History professor Devethia Guillory’s story demonstrates how the influences in one’s life can often lead to a particular career.
Guillory didn’t start her journey expecting to end up in education. Nonetheless, there were moments along the way, both trying and triumphant, that foreshadowed a career in teaching students life lessons that could be taken with them outside the classroom.
Guillory was born in Houston, Texas, but she was raised by her grandparents just over 30 miles east in the town of Crosby. Although Guillory was an only child, she was a part of a large extended family of uncles, aunts, and cousins.
During her early years in school, Guillory was a self-proclaimed nerd and an honor roll student from first grade through high school. The high marks in the classroom won’t tell you the real struggles of growing up in a segregated town where the message was always that others would be superior to her because of factors she could not control.
“The challenge has always been whether I will allow someone, or a system, to define me as being inferior and erect barriers that prevent me from reaching my goals,” Guillory said. “Of course, the answer is ‘No, never!’”.
From an early age, she was influenced by strong individuals. Her mother and grandparents not only shaped her persistent mindset but shined the first light on Guillory’s love for history.
She drew inspiration from being the daughter of one of the few members in her small community who attended college. Guillory was around the age of six when she received her first book as a gift from her mother. That gift was a book about African American History.
Of course, she also had first-hand accounts of history around her every day.
“Whereas my mom purchased my first history book, my grandparents were living, breathing history books who instilled a love for history through the wonderful stories that they shared,” Guillory said.
When the time to attend college rolled around, she returned to Houston to attend St. Thomas University. The move from a small town to an urban area allowed Guillory to grow and mature while experiencing new surroundings.
“I had the opportunity to interact with extremely diverse backgrounds and cultures,” she said. “That experience alone was transformative because it helped me to value and respect other people’s cultures.”
Guillory met her future husband while in college, and another path would soon develop over the next 12 years. As they started a family, her attention shifted to becoming a wife and mother.
During these years, Guillory would once again take a step closer to becoming a teacher. She says she found her niche in life as an educator by homeschooling her three children.
Eventually, she had the urge to return to school, and in 1993 attended Houston Community College as a part-time student working towards an Associate of Arts degree. Guillory later transferred to the University of Houston where she continued her education and earned a bachelor’s degree in 2000 followed by her master’s degree in 2004. Guillory is currently in her final year of pursing a Doctorate in Community Leadership through Ferris State University.
While Guillory was in graduate school, she began to set her sights on her calling of becoming a teacher when she served as a teaching assistant.
“Ultimately, I was granted the opportunity to teach my own class at the University of Houston,” she recalled. “I loved the experience, and I focused on developing my teaching skills.”
After a long and untraditional path, she was now a college professor. Her teaching career continued at the University of Houston where she intermittently served as an adjunct professor before moving on to Texas Southern University, Devry University, and several adjunct positions at campuses across the Lone Star College system. Ultimately, she found her full-time home at LSC-North Harris as a history instructor in 2013.
For the past seven years, she has served as an example to her students that your background, or what people tell you, doesn’t matter.
“There is no substitute for hard work,” she wants her students to know. “Shortcuts will shortchange you every time. Something that is rewarding will never be easy to obtain or achieve.”
Guillory is a perfect example of the words she shares. From an early age, she faced obstacles that have kept many from reaching their potential.
Although she grew up just 30 miles east of where she is today, Guillory has come even further to become a well-respected professor and member of the LSC-North Harris family.
Devethia Guillory, History professor
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