Clarksville, TN – When Jzsade Davenport walks across the stage at the Austin Peay State University (APSU) commencement ceremony this Friday, she will be wearing more than just her cap and gown.
She will wear a stole to honor her grandfather, L.M. Ellis — the man who broke the color barrier in Austin Peay State University basketball 60 years ago. Like her grandfather before her, Davenport is a trailblazer, graduating from the nation’s first federally registered teacher apprenticeship program.
“When you sit back and think about it, in the grand scheme of things and what my grandfather has done for other African Americans who play sports — I want to tell everyone all the time,” Davenport said, her voice filled with pride. “I felt like my best way to represent him while I walked across that stage was to wear my stole.”
The word “trailblazer” carries special weight throughout the Ellis family. In 1962, L.M. Ellis became the first Black basketball player to play at Austin Peay State University and sign a scholarship with an Ohio Valley Conference school, paving the way for countless athletes who followed. He was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.
Six decades later, his granddaughter will graduate in the fourth cohort of Austin Peay State University’s groundbreaking Grow Your Own Teacher Residency program, which became the country’s first registered teaching apprenticeship program in January 2022.
A Legacy of Firsts
Davenport, 27, will be the first of Ellis’s grandchildren to graduate from Austin Peay State University — a milestone that held special significance for the basketball legend before his passing in June 2022.
“We had talked a lot about it before when I was going to Austin Peay State University, paying for classes,” Davenport said. “He was trying to help support me and put forth what he could, because he did want to see a grandchild of his graduate from APSUy. I’m just glad that I get to be the one to do that for him and make him proud.”
Though Ellis didn’t live to see his granddaughter’s enrollment in the Grow Your Own Teacher Residency, Davenport knows exactly how he would feel on her graduation day.
“I think he would be really proud,” she said. “I know that if he could, he would be here to watch me walk across the stage … It would bring him so much joy.”
From the Basketball Court to the Classroom
Davenport’s earliest memories of Austin Peay State University involve riding to basketball games in her grandfather’s red truck.
“He would park in the front of the Dunn [Center] and bring me in, and I would sit with him or I would make other friends and go wander off with them,” she said. “But he would bring me to every game if he could. So that was a core memory of mine.”
While basketball was not in her future — she pursued cheerleading instead — education eventually called to her. After an unsuccessful first attempt at college, Davenport found her passion while substitute teaching at Rossview Elementary School. When a friend asked her to cover a maternity leave, Davenport found her purpose.“That made me realize that I loved teaching, and I wanted to do it on my own,” she said of her time at Rossview.
A Second Chance at Success
The Grow Your Own program offered Davenport something she desperately needed: a second chance. She went to another Tennessee public institution right after high school, but it did not feel like home. She transferred to Austin Peay, but the timing was not right, with Davenport admitting she did not put her “best foot forward.”
But when the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) sent out an email about the teacher residency program, she saw an opportunity for redemption.
The call almost did not come. After interviewing for the program, Davenport resigned herself to another year of substitute teaching when she did not hear back immediately. Then, on one of the last days of school, her phone would not stop ringing.
“They were calling me and calling me, and I was like, ‘I’m teaching, who is this person blowing my phone up?'” she said. “And they were like, ‘Hey, we just wanted to tell you that you got accepted.'”
The Grow Your Own Teacher Residency is different from traditional educator preparation programs. It allows students to attend classes in an accelerated three-year format, all while working full-time as an educational assistant in a partnering school district. While the perks of the program include free tuition and a paycheck, the program is rigorous — and not for everyone.
“It’s been a long three years,” Davenport admitted.
But despite the busy schedule, she excelled. In perhaps her proudest academic achievement, she earned only one B throughout the entire program. APSU Coordinator of Teacher Residencies Amber Button, who works with the Grow Your Own students, believed in her from the start, and Davenport was determined to prove herself.
“I knew that when I came back, I really wanted to show what I could do,” Davenport said.
At Byrns Darden Elementary, where she has spent the past three years as a teacher resident, Davenport has taught second, fourth and fifth grades while earning her degree through accelerated coursework. She even won a staff award at the elementary school, demonstrating her dedication to education.
The Power of Purpose
For Davenport, teaching is about more than academics. It is about the relationships formed with her students, and seeing them light up when they finally grasp a concept.
“It’s really teaching them those life skills that they need to take on to graduation or to middle school to high school to college even, if that’s where they decide to go,” she said. “That really warms my heart to see. And even if that’s teaching them how to properly tie their shoe or how to have a conversation or express themselves when they’re upset — that is the part of teaching I really enjoy doing.”
The support of her cohort — a “solid group of girls” who went through the program together — helped her persevere through difficult days of teaching all day and attending evening classes.
“Getting to have that togetherness with all the other people in the program that share that same hardship and joy and love for teaching, that made it all worth it to me,” Davenport said.
Carrying the Torch Forward
Davenport witnessed some of her grandfather’s greatest moments when Austin Peay State University retired his jersey in February 2022, and when he was inducted into the prestigious Red Coat Society in 2020.
“He was trying to jump out of his chair,” she said of his excitement when the Governors won that game. “They were trying to hold him down … it was such a last-minute shot, and really a win on that day for him was probably all he could ask for.”
Now, as she prepares to begin her teaching career, Davenport carries forward her grandfather’s legacy and her own. She is already planning for the first day of school and recently accepted a coaching position for West Creek High School’s cheer team, channeling her energy into the next generation.
“For a while, I was like, maybe college isn’t for me, maybe I need to go find another trade to do,” she said. “I’m glad that I didn’t give up and I came back to try it again. I’m proud of myself for pushing through and giving it at least one more shot.”
When people discover she is Ellis’s granddaughter, they are often amazed — the different last names mean the connection is not immediately obvious. But for Davenport, being part of this legacy means understanding that breaking barriers is not just about being first; it’s about making the path easier for those who follow.
“I prayed about it, and I knew that it was meant to be when I got that phone call,” she said. “Growing up coming here and seeing that spirit that everybody has for the school, it just flowed through my blood.”Now a “Gov for Life,” Davenport has fulfilled her grandfather’s dream while pursuing her own. And somewhere, Ellis is surely standing up out of his seat, cheering for his granddaughter’s victory.
About the APSU Eriksson College of Education
The Austin Peay State University Eriksson College of Education prepares dynamic teachers and educational leaders to positively impact communities and schools in the 21st century. The college offers initial and advanced licensure and non-licensure programs. The college’s programs, including the nationally known Grow Your Own Teacher Residency, are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
To learn more, visit www.apsu.edu/education.
