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Giving back is exactly what Beardsley has done. As a professor at MassBay, he teaches history and is one of the co-coordinators of the honors program. Helping kids gain self-confidence and figure out their next steps is something that gives him great satisfaction.

Beardsley proudly shares a recent success story that explains in a nutshell why he chose this profession. “There was a student who came through MassBay a couple of years ago and was in a number of my classes. She was a great student, but she was limited in terms of thinking about her future educational opportunities, despite the fact that she was obviously brilliant. I talked with her and eventually I was able to convince her to think beyond the absolute bare minimum of what was possible, to dream a little bit. She got into a very good, private liberal arts college. She and her parents were absolutely ecstatic. At the time, they didn’t think it was possible for someone to move from a community college such as MassBay to a school like the one at which she found herself. That was awesome. Just seeing how proud these parents were of their daughter and seeing how happy she was to have achieved so much—that was really special.”

Beardsley hopes that his own success story will help to show his students that anything is possible.

“Having someone in front of the classroom who has been there, in their shoes, and has gone on to do more—receive a Ph.D. and become a college professor—gives them hope that maybe they can achieve their goals and dreams.”

Outside of the classroom, Beardsley is married with two “crazy” dogs. His wife, April, is also a history professor in Rhode Island. In his spare time, Beardsley enjoys traveling, reading, and sports.