Life can take you places you might’ve never considered going—whether it means exceeding expectations or moving far from the familiar.
Indiana native Dr. Brandon Million didn’t consider college an option in his childhood because he grew up in a community where many of the adults went directly into the trades or factory workforce. And Dr. Molly Ferguson grew up on the East Coast, hundreds of miles away from Ball State University.
Their separate journeys brought them to Ball State. Dr. Million is an adjunct professor of sociology and an assistant director of inclusive excellence. Dr. Ferguson is an associate professor of English and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and African-American Studies.
Both recently earned prestigious fellowships at Ball State. Dr. Million was named the inaugural Ball Brothers Honors College Professional Staff Fellow for 2024-26, and Dr. Ferguson was named the next Ball Brothers Honors College Faculty Fellow for 2024-26. Both fellowships are two-year, part-time course load assignments within the Honors College.
“Being named the first professional staff fellow blew my mind,” Dr. Million said. “It tells me that the work I do and the work I want to do is more appreciated than what I may have thought. This (Fall 2024) semester, I am teaching about creating a more inclusive world. I will craft the second half of my class around the students’ majors—for example, inclusion in business, health, and education fields.”
Dr. Ferguson joins Dr. Gabriel Tait, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, who is in the middle of his Ball Brothers Honors College Faculty Fellow term. During his fellowship, Dr. Tait has been teaching courses focused on Black World Studies, Visual Black Empowerment through Public Art, and African American Studies. He developed an honors class that worked with students at Grissom Elementary to bring author Ladosha Wright to the school and talk about her book, Curly Hair Adventures. Dr. Tait believes the project “encouraged the students, our community partners, and me to unite our goals and identify ways we could give back together. The students discovered a wonderful chance to support important needs in literacy and cultural sensitivity.” The project was also supported by the Philanthropy Project at Ball State University.
As part of her fellowship, Dr. Ferguson’s first class is about folklore.
“We are looking at folklore in music, handicrafts, oral history, and anthropology. It’s exciting, and the energy from the students so far has been really exhilarating,” Dr. Ferguson said.
Learn more about Dr. Million and Dr. Ferguson in this brief Q&A interview below:
What Do You Think You Will Get Out of Being a Ball Brothers Fellow?
MILLION: I’m getting more classroom time. I teach a colloquium each semester. While I’m also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Sociology, this fellowship gives me a different experience. I got the opportunity to create these two classes that I’m teaching. I got to design them from the ground up. So, this fellowship is giving me experience that, as a staff member, I didn’t always have.
FERGUSON: I am getting to teach some really cool and exciting classes to a population of driven, curious, and excited students. I’m also getting to teach interdisciplinary courses.
What Motivates You?
MILLION: The students—seeing them grow, seeing them learn things, and seeing them make connections from where we were at the beginning of class and making those connections later in the semester.
FERGUSON: I am motivated by curiosity. I’m also motivated by my students and their excitement and curiosity in their work and projects. They make me excited to try something new in class or to work one-on-one with them and help them expand their ideas. Also, I’m motivated by how we connect with one another and how we understand ourselves.
What Is Your Favorite Part of Your Work at Ball State?
MILLION: Our students more than anything, especially seeing them when the light comes on for them. That’s when they discovered new information or made important connections between pieces of information.
FERGUSON: Definitely our students. Also, I am never bored with my work. I get to teach all the way from 100-level course students to graduate students to doctorate students. I’m always challenged, and I get to learn something new every semester.
What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self? (at any time in your past/any age)
MILLION: Don’t give up; it gets better. It may not be the next day or even the day after that. But it can get better.
FERGUSON: I’m thinking specifically about my college-age self just because of the nature of what we’re talking about here. I would tell college-age Molly that she definitely needs more than four hours of sleep each night. Also, I would tell her to do a little bit of work each day on a project instead of trying to do it all at once and getting overwhelmed. That is something I had to learn the hard way. I got better about that.
