From student to professor: Alicia McCartney’s journey

Dr. Alicia (Constant) McCartney (JRN, '14) followed God’s call to higher education, from a PHC freshman to a tenured college professor. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Baylor University and was recently promoted to Associate Professor of English at Cedarville University, where she has been teaching since 2020. 

As a homeschool graduate from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alicia knew she wanted to pursue journalism in a rigorous environment where she could grow spiritually. This vision, together with constant prayer, led her to PHC's front steps.

“PHC was the top of my list,” said Alicia. Her dreams of attending PHC seemed unlikely because of the financial commitment and distance from home. On the other hand, she knew it would be easier to attend a nearby state school with a full-ride scholarship. “I had to walk by faith, not by sight,” she said.

Trusting in God’s plan for her future, Alicia dedicated herself to prayer alongside her parents and applied for every scholarship she could find. Not only did she begin winning scholarship money, but she received a donation of $10,000, the exact amount she still needed to make a debt-free graduation attainable. Between freelancing, tutoring, doing odd jobs on campus, and working part-time in the library, she was able to graduate without student debt.

In 2010, Alicia arrived at PHC. The core curriculum shaped her principles and taught her to think in an interdisciplinary manner, which applies directly to her profession today. “I still think about Dr. Spinney’s classes,” Alicia said, remembering her U.S. History classes from sophomore year. Now, as a professor, Alicia uses the same Shakespeare text from her class at PHC to teach her own students.

PHC’s journalism program with the CLA track encouraged and deepened Alicia’s love of stories and storytelling. She quips that she functionally had enough credits for an unofficial Literature minor, since she took so many Literature electives, such as Literary Theory and Shakespeare, for fun. After grad school, Alicia came back to PHC for a year and taught several literature classes—including Literary Theory—herself.

Halfway through her senior year, Alicia applied to Baylor University’s graduate school English program.

“I always tell my students, ‘Don't do what I did,’” Alicia said. “I only applied to one school!”

She was accepted to Baylor. Once again, Alicia found herself rising to the next phase of education in faith.

From 2014 to 2019, Alicia pursued her PhD in Texas, with a dissertation on shipwreck literature from the late 19^th century. While at Baylor, Alicia reconnected with and began dating a fellow PHC graduate, Andrew McCartney (Political Theory, '14), who attended law school at UT Austin. They have now been married for 9 years, with two beautiful children—Elizabeth (age 3 and a half) and James (9 months).

In 2019, between graduating from Baylor and teaching at Cedarville University, Alicia spent a year teaching part-time at PHC. Living and job-hunting in D.C. as an English professor, Alicia found that D.C.’s career-driven value system was a tough environment to live in. “It is hard to be in a work-defined culture and to be judged by a secular metric of success. The more important question is: 'How does God define success?'"

In January 2020, she traveled to Cedarville University, interviewing for an English teaching position. Only a month later, Cedarville offered her a full-time position, beginning the following school year. “This was the Lord’s perfect timing,” Alicia said. She secured the job only a month before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown began in March. Although the restrictions, quarantining, and semi-online classroom were not ideal, Alicia gives thanks that her pathway was secure.

Alicia has taught at Cedarville for 6 years; recently, she was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in English. In addition to caring for her family and welcoming her second child last Christmas, Alicia continues personal research and writing projects on biblical integration in literary studies and how Christians should think about AI. 

“We often feel the need to do great things for God, with a strong political presence, a certain number of social media followers—all the ways the world defines great things,” Alicia said. “But that is not how God determines success. My worth is based on how Christ sees me–sinful, yet redeemed and loved.”

Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.