Professor Arionne Nettles, the Garth C. Reeves Eminent Scholar Chair and digital media instructor at Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, isn’t just a teacher — she is a doer.
While sharing her expertise in the classroom, Nettles also leads by example, demonstrating to the students she educates and mentors how to lend their voice and skills to empower audiences. Her recent contributions range from offering parenting advice and guidance on balancing AI with media literacy to exploring hip-hop’s role in education.
This fall, Nettles was named an advice columnist for Slate’s Care and Feeding, which answers readers’ questions about kids, parenting, and family life. Slate is an award-winning national magazine and podcast network. Since joining in August, Nettles has published nearly 30 columns. Her content is available here on her Slate Author’s Page.
Earlier this semester, USA TODAY featured Nettles’ storytelling in its Education section with a piece on hip-hop’s role in today’s classrooms. She wrote that “building confidence, working collaboratively in intellectual communities and leaning into students’ own experiences” are pillars of hip-hop culture that can benefit education. Read the story here.
Nettles also appeared as a subject-matter expert in ESSENCE’s Girls United article, “Reading Is Fundamental: Can Media Literacy Survive Misinformation and AI?” Girls United is a global digital destination for young, multicultural audiences seeking mentors, perspectives, tools, and resources. Read the article here.
In the piece, Nettles offered insights on media literacy in the age of misinformation and AI:
- “Find a few reliable media sources that you can use to fact-check other information that you read elsewhere.”
- “Remember that if a story is huge, more than one outlet is going to report on it. Before sharing it, pause and see where it’s published.”
- “If you can’t confirm where a piece of information came from, don’t share it. It’s not worth it.”
Alongside her national media contributions, Nettles, an award-winning author, is completing a Ph.D. in educational leadership at DePaul University. This summer, she received the Barbara A. Sizemore Multicultural Urban Professional Educator Award from DePaul’s College of Education.
