Magazine-Winter-2025 - Flipbook - Page 16
T H E CA PSTONE
Deciding
to Try
UA Senior English Instructor
Nathan Parker uses literature
and travel to help students
find direction, proving that
progress often begins with
bravery in motion.
By Rhonda Crim ’05, MA ’07
hen
Nathan
Parker talks
about “the
hero’s journey,”
it isn’t just a
lesson plan. It’s the story of his
own life. The longtime instructor
in The University of Alabama’s
department of English is a poet,
mentor and recipient of the
National Alumni Association’s
2018 Outstanding Commitment
to Teaching Award. He has
spent more than two decades
helping students find direction
in literature and in life, often
reminding them that every
journey begins with one simple
act: deciding to try.
Parker first came to the
University in 2001 to pursue a
Master of Fine Arts in poetry.
His wife, Christy, was studying
linguistics and Teaching English
to Speakers of Other Languages,
and together, they expected their
stay in Tuscaloosa to last just a
few years, But after earning his
degree in 2004, Parker accepted
a one-year instructorship that
quietly turned into a career.
His temporary role grew into
a permanent position, and
Tuscaloosa became home.
14
ALABAMA ALUMNI MAGAZINE
