I was born Michael Wayne Davis on December 9th, 1975 to a UAB educated nursing instructor from an old-line Mobile, Alabama family, and a high school educated insurance salesman from a relatively poor family from Rainbow City, Alabama. I am on my third attempt to complete my undergraduate degree at UAB and my buckshot transcript explains my triple minor of Literature, Linguistics, and History and my ultimate decision to declare a General Studies major. I was born in Birmingham, educated in a privileged community and have spent most of my life in relatively urban areas. When I graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1994, my goal was to complete my Ph.D. in English Literature and settle into a long career in academia. I allowed life, marriage, bills, bad decisions, hard work, poor health, divorce, and major depression to derail my original academic goals but instead of a hot new sports car or an age-inappropriate trophy wife, my mid-life crisis manifested in a shift back to a focus on education and an overwhelming desire to do something useful with my life. My post-graduation plan is to apply to a graduate program at UAB in either History or Education. My goal is to complete my teaching certification and dedicate the rest of my life to contributing to the education of young people in disadvantaged communities. Despite my privileged, urban background, I am especially drawn to the chronically underserved rural communities in Alabama. I have always wanted to experience life in a rural community and look forward to bringing my different perspective and life-learned lessons to a career in educating the youth of this state.