From Student to Teacher: CHP Alumni Return to Shape the Next Generation of Students
| For some graduates of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Health Professions (CHP), their UAMS journey doesn’t end at commencement. Sometimes the past student becomes today’s teacher.
After working in their careers outside the university, nearly half of the college’s core faculty have returned to UAMS’ classrooms, labs, and clinical training sites to guide the next generation of health professionals.
Three CHP alumni-turned-educators share a unique perspective: They once sat in the same seats, faced the same challenges and now draw on those experiences to shape how they teach, mentor and connect with students.
“For some faculty, CHP is more than a workplace—it’s where their journey began. As alumni-turned-educators, they now carry forward a legacy 55 years in the making.”
Lesley Jones, M.S., RD, assistant professor in the college’s Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, remembers the pride and momentum she felt as a CHP student in the late 1990s — an experience that still informs her work today.
Thirty-eight out of 81 faculty members (47%) of the College of Health Professions are graduates of its programs., including everyone seen here.
“I so enjoyed my time here as a student,” Jones said. “I felt I excelled, and I had a wonderful experience that prepared me well to work as a dietitian.”
After years in clinical practice, Jones returned to UAMS as a member of its faculty, bringing with her a depth of real-world insight that directly shapes her teaching.
“It’s easier to teach what you’ve experienced,” she said. “I was directly involved in patient care and I can tell them, ‘This is what you’re going to experience as a dietitian walking into the patient’s room.’”
Those lived experiences allow her to translate textbook concepts into practical skills, preparing students for what lies ahead.
“I don’t think I would be as effective in this role had I not worked first clinically,” Jones said.
For Jones, teaching is also deeply relational. Watching students transition from learners to professionals remains one of her greatest rewards.
For Aaron Woodall, M.P.A.S., PA-C, a 2020 graduate of the physician assistant program and assistant professor in the college’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies, the connection between learning and doing is central to how he teaches.
Woodall entered academia after several years in family practice and credits both his student experience and clinical work for shaping his approach.
“I think one of the strengths that I’ve had as an educator is that I did go through our program, so I know what it’s like,” he said.
That perspective helps him connect to students navigating an intense, 28-month program.
“I try to remember what it was like being a student and not really being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Woodall said. “Anytime there’s an opportunity to show them the point of why we’re learning all this, that is helpful.”
He focuses heavily on real-world application, connecting classroom material to patient care.
Woodall continues to see patients part-time, which keeps his teaching grounded in current clinical realities.
“The students really appreciate when they can hear real clinical stories. So, when I’m teaching about something and I can say, ‘I had a patient just like this case or situation the other day, and here’s how we dealt with it,’ they seem to really gravitate to those kinds of real-world examples. And so, I’ve liked doing both,” Woodall said.
Teaching, in turn, has sharpened his own skills, he said, adding that explaining concepts to students deepens his own understanding.
Cherika Robertson, M.S., MLS, associate professor in the college’s Department of Laboratory Sciences, followed a similar path, moving from student to practitioner to faculty in the medical laboratory sciences program.
“I think that helped shape who I am today as a faculty member,” Robertson said of her experience as both a CHP student and a practicing laboratory professional at UAMS.
Her passion for teaching emerged while working with students in clinical environments.
“It was really working with students during their clinical internship,” Robertson said. “Most students, they go through the didactic portion of a curriculum of a program, but it’s during that practical experience, the internship experience, where the light bulb moment happens. And so that’s my favorite part: When students fully understand a concept, they connect all of the dots, and I think that was my inspiration for getting into the academic side.”
Robertson emphasizes that the college provided more than academic training — it built confidence and professional identity.
“The College of Health Professions is much more than just providing the academic pathway,” she said. “It’s building those relationships and the knowledge for your future career.”
Now as an educator, she carries that forward.
“I take great pride in knowing that I am carrying on that legacy and helping students succeed in their future goals,” Robertson said.
Because she once navigated the same program, she offers mentorship grounded in empathy and firsthand understanding.
“I know what students are experiencing as they progress through the program,” she said. “I’m able to mentor students and make connections with practicing professionals for those students to achieve future career goals.”
Her teaching blends theory with flexibility, preparing students for the realities of modern healthcare.
“I always try to teach what the textbook says, but also real-world clinical experience,” Robertson said. “Students may encounter different methodologies, and it’s all acceptable.”
While their career paths differ, Jones, Woodall and Robertson share a common approach rooted in experience: Teaching is most effective when it connects knowledge to practice and meets students where they are.
They understand the uncertainty, the workload and the transformation students are undergoing — and they use that insight to guide them forward.
For these faculty members, returning to UAMS is more than a career move — it’s a continuation of a journey they began as students.
“I’ve always been very proud that I’m back teaching in the program where I started as a student,” Jones said.