Vanguard University

Terrelle is a California native who was born and raised in South Los Angeles. He is currently an Assistant Professor for Graduate Education at Vanguard and enjoys spending time with his family when he is not at work. He prides himself on cooking an occasional roast for his family that he learned to prepare from Food Tube, a show on YouTube.

Growing up, education, acting and theatre were important to Terrelle. They were fun to him and a means that helped Terrelle stay out of trouble since gang violence is prevalent in the southern part of the inner city. He reflects, "I did not grow up with a lot of money but my mom always found a way to provide. If I ever did anything bad then I knew my mom would be waiting for me at home." He described his mom as someone who was strict but loved her family very much. 

Terrelle also grew up with an older sister, Taneesha who is now a nurse, and a younger sister, Billy who is training to be a cosmetologist in Georgia. They grew up mostly under the care of their mom and their step-father, Bernard who worked as a janitor. Terrelle grew up riding bikes, playing video games and loved to joke around with friends. He reflects on his upbringing, "In terms of my behavior, I was not a great student back then. Luckily my grades were fine but I was always having fun and joking around with my friends in class." Terrelle went to Washington High School where he had the opportunity to participate in different theater plays like Huckleberry Finn and Dream Girls. There, he would also meet his wife, Porscha who he dated on and off before getting married. She used to work at a Kay Jewelers store before becoming a full-time mom. 

His theatre teacher, Mark, wrote a lot of original productions and stories. Terrelle remembers one of his popular hits called, What's Going On, which was based on American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye and his music. During his time in theatre, Terrelle had the opportunity to meet actor and comedian Cedric Kyles popularly known as Cedric the Entertainer who is known for his late 1990's television appearance on the Steve Harvey Show. Terrelle remembers meeting Cedric who was looking to fund one of the school's plays that unfortunately never took off. 

Terrelle attended Pepperdine University in Malibu as a theatre major. In his sophomore year, Terrelle committed his life to the Lord. Terrelle's mom was a Christian who attended church but Terrelle did not end up finding his faith until his early adulthood. Terrelle recalls that time, "I was at my mom's church and the pastor was preaching about glorifying God. And, the pastor was looking into the congregation asking people what are you going to do with your eternity?" Terrelle remembers feeling the weight of his sin at that time and saw nothing for him at the end of his life. Terrelle went down the aisle to the pastor's pulpit and asked God to save him. That year, he also switched his major to education in hope that he could serve the Lord one day. Since then, Terrelle has received a Masters of Arts in Education from Vanguard and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Loyola Marymount University. 

Outside of work, Terrelle and Porscha are passionate about foster care and see it as their ministry. The couple has one adopted son, Ashton, and four girls whom they foster that range in ages three to five. He hopes to continue to raise his children in God's love and work towards tenure as a professor at Vanguard.

Vanguard is so thankful for Terrelle's heart in his ministry for others and pursuit in education.

#WeAreVU