Teaching Assistant Professor
English
In any class I teach, whether creative writing, literature, or rhetoric, I want students to witness the power of their writing, both in the classroom and beyond it. I often design my courses to include hands-on, multimodal projects where students have agency in choosing how to put their writing process, research skills, and rhetorical dexterity to work. My hope is that students will develop a toolbox of fundamental skills that they can transfer to other situations in their lives.
My career began outside the U.S., first as an English teacher in South Korea and then in a rural village in Hungary. These experiences fortified my conviction that we learn best in dialogue with one another, in an environment that empowers all to participate. My teaching is informed by training I have done in inclusive teaching towards justice, conflict transformation, and online and blended teaching. In the classroom, I strive to be energetic and engaged, committed to accessible learning, linguistic justice, and universal design pedagogy. As a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and a former employee at Wartburg College, I know the transformative impact of a whole-person, liberal arts education that meets students where they are and encourages a deep sense of social justice.
My own writing explores gender, power, and embodiment. In my scholarly work, I use feminist and queer theory as a lens to analyze portrayals of miscarriage and pregnancy loss in fiction. I am primarily a creative writer, and I mostly write fiction and creative nonfiction, but I also write poetry. My short stories and personal often explore women navigating uncomfortable questions in unfamiliar places. I am currently at work on my first novel, a contemporary work of literary fiction set in present-day Wisconsin that follows two best friends navigating infertility, miscarriage, and risky pregnancies alongside one another.
Education
- PhD in English, Creative Writing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
- Graduate Certificate, Women and Gender Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- MFA, Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
- BA, English and Political Science, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN
Courses Taught
- Foundations in Rhetoric
- Creative Writing
- Advanced Literary Journal Production
- Introduction to Literary Studies
Research Interests
- Contemporary Fiction and the Novel
- Creative nonfiction
- Literary magazines and publishing
- Creative writing pedagogy
- Feminist and queer studies.
Publications
Short Fiction
- 鈥淭he Blood Kettle,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Mid-American Review. Vol. XLI, Spring 2022. 2021 AWP Intro Journal Award. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Juked, March 26, 2019.
Nonfiction
- 鈥淭ear the Skin,鈥&苍产蝉辫;North American Review, April 17, 2024.
- 鈥淭ick Season,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, Volume 26, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 160-165, Michigan State University Press.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Short Reads. Vol. 13. June 21, 2023.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;American Literary Review, Fall, 2022.
- 鈥鈥 New Letters, Vol. 88 nos. 3 & 4, Summer/Fall 2022. Listed as a Notable Essay in the 2023 Best American Essays.
- 鈥.鈥&苍产蝉辫;Diagram Journal. 21.1, April, 2021. Featured in Creative Nonfiction鈥檚 Sunday Short Reads Newsletter, 149, Sept., 2021.
- 鈥淎fter the Smoke, Before the Flames,鈥 Essay, Denver Quarterly, 2019.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review, Aug. 14, 2018.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Baltimore Review, Oct. 27, 2017.
- River Teeth, Jan. 18, 2016.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Offing, Jan. 7, 2016.
- 鈥 New South Journal, January 2016.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Cleaver Magazine, April 1, 2015.
- 鈥鈥&苍产蝉辫;New York Times, 鈥淭he Learning Network,鈥 Feb. 13, 2015.
Poetry
- 鈥淒esire Lines,鈥 swamp pink, fall, 2024.
- 鈥淩eminders to Self,鈥 Driftwood Press, fall, 2024.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Conjunctions, April 6, 2022.
- ,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Conjunctions, April 6, 2022.
- Conjunctions, April 6, 2022.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Conjunctions, April 6, 2022.
- 鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Offing, April 12, 2022.
Additional Information
Office Hours
Fall 2024
- In my office: Mondays, 3-4:30 pm
- In the Commons: Wednesdays, 3-4:00 pm
- By Appointment: Always happy to meet in person or online. Get in touch.
Teaching Schedule
Fall 2024
- 1001/105 MWF 1:00-1:50 Lalumiere Hall 262
- 1001/111 MWF 10:00-10:50 Lalumiere Hall 192
- 1001/112 MWF 11:00-11:50 Lalumiere Hall 192
- 1001/122 MWF 2:00-2:50 Lalumiere Hall 154