Blog 50/ The First Fifty Cups: What Brewing Bold Conversations Has Taught Me
Celebrating the first fifty cups of CourtneyCoffeeChats—voice, scholarship, faith, resilience, and becoming brewed one reflection at a time.
A celebration of voice, legacy, scholarship, and becoming
When I published my first blog, I thought I was creating a space to share my thoughts.
Fifty blogs later, I realize I was building something much deeper.
I was building an archive.
An archive of becoming.
An archive of faith.
An archive of scholarship.
An archive of questions, reflections, lessons, and lived experiences that deserved a place to breathe beyond the walls of a classroom, dissertation, workplace, conference room, or private journal.
Last year, I began blogging as an Ed.D. student approaching the completion of my doctoral program. At the time, I was carrying research, working in higher education, teaching as an adjunct faculty member, navigating life, and continuing to grow in my walk with God.
There was so much I was learning in real time.
There was so much I was noticing.
There was so much I was surviving.
And there was so much I knew I could not keep only to myself.
I wanted CourtneyCoffeeChats to become a space where I could share my perspective in a way that was accessible, reflective, thoughtful, and honest.
Not everyone will read a dissertation.
Not everyone will attend a conference presentation.
Not everyone will sit in a classroom with me.
But someone may read a blog.
Someone may encounter a sentence at the right time.
Someone may find language for something they have been carrying.
“Someone may feel seen, encouraged, challenged, or invited to think more deeply.
That possibility mattered to me.”
It still does.
A Voice I Had to Steward
Having a voice is a gift.
Having a place to use it is a responsibility.
CourtneyCoffeeChats became a hub where I could share what I was experiencing, what I was researching, and what I was learning as society continued to shift around me.
It allowed me to write from the intersection of who I am:
a student,
an educator,
a scholar,
a higher education professional,
an adjunct professor,
a woman of faith,
a researcher,
a communicator,
and a leader still becoming.
This space did not ask me to separate those identities.
It allowed them to speak to one another.
That has been one of the greatest gifts of the first fifty blogs.
I did not have to choose between scholarship and heart.
“I did not have to choose between faith and intellect.”
I did not have to choose between lived experience and research.
I did not have to choose between being reflective and being rigorous.
CourtneyCoffeeChats gave me permission to bring the fullness of myself to the page.
The Coffeehouse Collection
Over time, the blog became more than a sequence of posts.
It became a collection.
A coffeehouse of conversations.
Each category began to hold a different part of my voice.
Scholarly Sips gave me room to think critically about higher education, student belonging, institutional change, and the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™.
Courageous Cups gave me room to reflect on faith, conviction, spiritual endurance, and the courage required to stand when life and leadership become difficult.
Life Latte Moments gave me room to process personal growth, identity, transition, rest, and the lessons that come with becoming.
Freshly Brewed Reflections gave me room to write from the heart—to pause, look back, and make meaning of moments that might otherwise pass too quickly.
Together, these categories became more than labels.
They became evidence that my voice has layers.
They became evidence that leadership has layers.
They became evidence that scholarship has layers.
And they reminded me that legacy is not built only through major milestones.
Sometimes legacy is built one reflection at a time.
One lesson at a time.
One cup at a time.
Writing Through What Could Have Broken Me
These first fifty blogs were not written from a perfect season.
They were written through transition.
Through uncertainty.
Through doctoral completion.
Through professional disappointment.
Through faith-building moments.
Through research discoveries.
Through conference preparation.
Through moments of exhaustion.
Through moments of clarity.
“Through seasons where I was still waiting on doors to open, while also watching God use the doors that were already in front of me.”
Over the past three years, I survived adversity that could have taken my voice.
In my first semester as an Ed.D. student, I suffered through loss, distractions, and emotional strain while still trying to show up academically, professionally, and personally.
Then, in the final semester of my doctoral journey, pieces of that suffering seemed to return in a different form, through new events that felt painfully familiar—almost like déjà vu.
Different season.
Similar weight.
Again, there was loss.
Again, there were distractions.
Again, there were expectations for me to keep moving as though nothing had happened.
In both seasons, I did not have the emotional support I needed. No one stepped in and helped me navigate the weight of what I was carrying. Instead, there were constant demands, interruptions, and expectations from people who needed me to keep functioning without missing a beat.
And somehow, I did.
Not because it was easy.
Not because I was untouched.
Not because I had everything I needed from the people around me.
I kept moving because the Lord strengthened me when no one else was in my corner.
I sought refuge in God when support was thin.
I leaned on faith when the path felt heavy.
I continued to write, teach, research, present, learn, and become—not because I was never wounded, but because I refused to let the wounds become the end of the story.
That is part of what makes this milestone meaningful.
I did not write because everything was easy.
I wrote because there was something to say.
I wrote because reflection helped me process what I was living.
I wrote because scholarship should not be disconnected from humanity.
I wrote because someone else may one day need language for a season they have not yet learned how to name.
The first fifty blogs taught me that writing is not simply about expression.
Writing is also stewardship.
It is how we honor what we have lived.
It is how we organize what we have learned.
It is how we leave evidence that we were paying attention.
Scholarship With a Soul
As my doctoral research developed, CourtneyCoffeeChats became a place where I could think publicly about what I was studying.
My research helped me better understand what was unfolding in society and higher education, particularly as institutions continued to wrestle with belonging, equity, access, student support, and the consequences of dismantling diversity-centered infrastructure.
To witness the drastic changes taking place across the nation while also researching what students were experiencing was both sobering and groundbreaking.
“The year 2025 marked an unprecedented period in higher education and American society. Structures designed to support vulnerable populations—particularly those historically placed at a disadvantage—were being dismantled, questioned, renamed, weakened, or removed.”
As a researcher, I was not observing from a distance.
I was studying a living moment.
I was listening to students.
I was analyzing institutional shifts.
I was watching language remain in some spaces while support structures changed behind the scenes.
I was documenting something that needed to be named.
The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ emerged from that urgency.
It was not simply a phrase.
It was a framework born from a historic moment, student experiences, institutional behavior, and the widening gap between what organizations claimed to value and what they were prepared to sustain.
I understand now that this work is part of my legacy.
Not because legacy is about being seen.
But because legacy is about leaving language, insight, and evidence that may help others understand what happened and what must be done differently.
The blog became a bridge between formal scholarship and public reflection.
It allowed me to take what I was studying and translate it into conversations that could reach beyond academic spaces.
That mattered to me because student voices matter.
Institutional experiences matter.
Black student belonging matters.
The experiences of those navigating predominantly White institutions matter.
The lives behind the data matter.
The policies behind the press releases matter.
The people impacted by institutional decisions matter.
My hope has always been to elevate those realities with care.
Not just to critique.
Not just to name.
But to illuminate.
To help others see what may be hidden in plain sight.
To ask better questions.
To imagine better possibilities.
And to contribute to transformation in my field and beyond.
From Researcher to National Presenter
One of the most humbling parts of this journey has been watching the work move beyond the page.
What began as research became scholarship.
What became scholarship became presentation.
What became presentation became conversation.
And what became conversation began opening doors I once prayed for.
To go from researcher to national presenter multiple times has been both humbling and honoring.
To present this work nationally four times, and then learn in June 2026 that a fifth invitation had been extended, is a blessing I do not take lightly.
Each invitation reminds me that the work matters.
Each presentation reminds me that the topic is timely.
Each audience reminds me that the questions are bigger than me.
And each opportunity reminds me that what God allows to grow from a difficult season can still become something useful, impactful, and deeply meaningful.
“The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ will continue to be known because the work names something real.”
It names the void.
It names the contradiction.
It names what happens when institutions maintain the appearance of inclusion while removing the structures that make inclusion possible.
That is not just scholarship.
That is a priceless legacy.
What the First Fifty Cups Taught Me
The first fifty blogs taught me that voice matures through use.
I did not wait until every thought was perfect before I began. I started with what I had, and the writing grew with me.
They taught me that bold conversations require both courage and care.
“Everything does not need to be shouted to be powerful. Sometimes the most courageous writing is steady, clear, reflective, and deeply honest.”
They taught me that lived experience can sit beside scholarship without weakening it.
In fact, when held responsibly, lived experience can deepen the questions we ask and sharpen the meaning of the work.
They taught me that faith is not separate from my becoming.
My walk with God has shaped how I understand endurance, assignment, humility, timing, and purpose.
They taught me that consistency is a form of legacy.
Fifty blogs did not happen by accident.
They happened because I kept returning to the page.
And they taught me that CourtneyCoffeeChats is not simply something I created.
It is a layer of who I am.
It reflects the student who kept striving.
The professional who kept learning.
The professor who kept teaching.
The scholar who kept asking.
The woman of faith who kept believing.
And the leader who still desires to create positive impact and meaningful change.
One Cup at a Time
As I celebrate Blog 50, I am grateful.
Grateful for the lessons.
Grateful for the language.
Grateful for the readers.
Grateful for the students.
Grateful for the research.
Grateful for the trials that did not take my voice.
Grateful for the opportunities that allowed me to use it.
And grateful for the reminder that sometimes what begins as a small act of obedience becomes part of a larger legacy.
I started CourtneyCoffeeChats to create space for bold conversations.
Fifty blogs later, I understand that the space was also creating me.
It helped me see my voice more clearly.
It helped me honor my journey more fully.
It helped me build a bridge between scholarship and lived experience.
It helped me document a season of becoming that I may one day look back on and realize was foundational to everything that came next.
So today, I celebrate the first fifty cups.
The Scholarly Sips.
The Courageous Cups.
The Life Latte Moments.
The Freshly Brewed Reflections.
The prayers.
The questions.
The lessons.
The research.
The survival.
The becoming.
And as I look ahead, my hope is to continue elevating student voices, contributing to transformative conversations in higher education, and using my platform to inspire, challenge, and encourage others.
Because the work is still brewing.
The conversations are still unfolding.
The calling is still expanding.
And there are still more cups to pour.
Remember, bold conversations, brewed fresh—one cup at a time.
Cheers,
Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson
Remember, bold conversations, brewed fresh - one cup at a time!
Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson
Founder of CourtneyCoffeeChats
Bold Conversations, Brewed Fresh.
Welcome to The Coffeehouse Collection - where higher education meets heart. Here, you will find Scholarly Sips, Courageous Cups, Life Latte Moments, and Freshly Brewed Reflections - bold conversation and personal insights brewed just for you!
