An amazing professor, mother and colleague

SOMER HANSON

Page Gearhart-Davis was homeless, pregnant and a mom to four children when she enrolled at Yuba College in 2013 as a re-entry student. She saw education as the means to be able to take care of her family financially.

More than a decade later, with her youngest child now 11 years old, Gearhart-Davis is an adjunct professor of sociology and human services at the College. After earning associate degrees in Sociology and Human Services from Yuba, she went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Chico.

But she’s not done.

Gearhart-Davis was recently accepted into a Doctorate in Educational Leadership program at Sacramento State University. “That’s why I value education so much,” she
said. “I know how much it has helped me. It brings you up.”

It has brought up her next generation as well, with her two oldest daughters in college and a high school freshman son who earned a 4.0 GPA and recently received an academic
excellence award.

After she earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and master’s degree in Social Work, Gearhart-Davis’ initial post-college plan was to go into child welfare. After several interviews,
she felt like it wasn’t a good fit and looked to try out teaching at the community college level.

In 2019, Gearhart-Davis became a Sociology and Human Services adjunct faculty member at Yuba, becoming colleagues with her former professors, including Marc Flacks.
“I’ve seen Page overcome all obstacles and grow into an amazing professor, mother and colleague,” Flacks said. “Clearly, Page has come so far so fast because her values align with the community college mission, which I like to abbreviate as JEDI principles: Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The Force is strong with Page!”

Gearhart-Davis encourages her students to visit during office hours, not exclusively for questions related to class, but to ask mentor-related questions as well, such as thoughts on graduate school programs. She ran into two former students at last month’s graduation and learned one is finishing up their bachelor’s degree in social work while the other is studying special education.

“I have a servant heart,” she said. “I love helping students and being in the classroom, helping them achieve their goals.”

During her time as a student at Yuba, she was on the receiving end of support that aided in her academic success. Gearhart- Davis was part of Extended Opportunity Program & Services (EOPS), a program that focuses on assisting students who are low income and educationally disadvantaged. She was an EOPS peer mentor, lead peer mentor and then a specialist in the program.

She won awards as part of the speech team, and credits her counselor, Neena Gil, for pushing her to dream bigger, as well as EOPS/CARE Specialist Siliva Gonzalez for ensuring she stayed on track and entered her into the CARE program for additional aid and support for single parents. As a professor at the College, Gearhart-Davis is an active participant in the Teaching Community and is a central part of the Sociology and Human Services departments. She receives a lot of help and support from the teaching community to get her classes to where she feels confident and proud.
“She is an extremely hard and diligent worker who cares for her students and leaves a deep impact on their learning experience and lives,” said Claire Eberhardt, Social Sciences faculty member at Yuba.

Gearhart-Davis’ passions extend beyond the classroom. With a heart for incarcerated people and their children, her ultimate goal is to assume a role as a Social Community Service Leader, advocating for policy changes and collaborating with local communities to develop tailored programs that address their specific needs. “I want to aid in providing education and resources to change this failed ‘rehabilitation’ system to help those who are incarcerated as well as their families break the cycle of recidivism and reduce prison populations,” Gearhart-Davis said.

At Sacramento State for her doctorate program, she plans to focus her dissertation on social work, community work and education.
“I may work for Page one day!” Flacks said.