Dr. Dessilyn Chappell is a true lover of knowledge and learning. After earning a bachelor’s degree in communications from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2007, the Montevallo native realized that her passion lied in another field — education.
“I’ve always wanted to instill a love of learning, especially in young children, because they are so impressionable and they are sponges,” she said. “If you can spark it early, it’s something that can continue. I feel like it has always been my job to encourage people to ask questions, to always want to know more so that you can continue to grow as you get older.”
Upon researching graduate education programs in the state, Chappell found that the University of Montevallo had one of the best and was accepted during her senior year at UAB. Having grown up here and knowing people who worked at the University, she was approached about replacing a hall director that was leaving in the middle of the school year. She moved back to town to live on campus as the hall director in Main Hall and commuted to UAB for her classes.
“I think I graduated May 5 at UAB and started May term at Montevallo on the seventh,” she said. “It was fast, but I also say it’s a God thing because He was the one that orchestrated all of this, and it worked out. I probably should have always gone to Montevallo, but He got me there the way I was supposed to be there.”
Chappell earned her first degree from UM, a Master of Education in Elementary Education and Teaching, in 2009. Meanwhile, she dove right into teaching as an intern at Meadowview Elementary School in Alabaster, where she was hired soon after. She taught there for eight years as she earned two more degrees from UM — a Master of Education in Educational, Instructional and Curriculum Supervision in 2013 and an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational, Instructional and Curriculum Supervision in 2015.
She moved on to work at Huntingdon College in Montgomery as an instructor in teacher education from 2017 to 2020. During this time, she returned to UAB to pursue her doctorate in early childhood education and teaching, which she completed in 2021. The commute from Montgomery to Birmingham became tedious after a while, so Chappell made the switch back to elementary school education in Hoover City Schools.
Now, Chappell is at the University of West Alabama, where she has served as assistant professor of elementary education since 2022. As an online instructor, her students are all across the state and from all age groups, even older than herself.
“That has always been an inspiration to me that it’s never too late, never too late to learn, never too late to start a dream that you’ve always had,” she said. “That’s encouraging for me to be able to connect to people all over the state, but also those that have never given up and they still have that passion in education.”
In addition to her teaching and mentoring roles, Chappell is an active member of the UM National Alumni Association. She joined the board in 2023 and started serving as Vice President of Clubs this year. Her role includes serving as a liaison to club leaders and helping plan opportunities for alumni to connect through clubs, whether they be regional or interest-based.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity to stay connected to your university,” she said. “I feel like life is built on the connections that you make — connections with people that can eventually help you, but you can also potentially help them. Connect with clubs, events or just connect to your department that you graduated from. Think about how you can give back — give back your words, your time or your funds if you are able to because it makes a difference within your university, but it also makes a difference to the students that truly need it.”
