My Background
- Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
- High School: West Catholic High School
- Professional Experience: I've taught English (composition and literature) in a wide range of settings: university, community college, high school, and GED preparation/night school. My favorite by far is the community college, where dedicated teachers have the greatest effect on students through high quality, accessible, affordable education. My community college teachers helped open up the world to me, and I am honored to do the same for our students at MCC. I am a writing teacher and a teaching writer. I've published scholarly essays on canonical writers including Herman Melville, John Steinbeck, and Anne Tyler, as well as on such newcomers to American letters as Rudolfo Anaya, Sandra Cisneros, and Lely Hayslip.
- Academic Degrees: AA, Grand Rapids Community College, BA, English,, Grand Valley State University, MA, English, Michigan State University, PhD, English, Michigan State University
- Classes Taught: Currently I’m teaching developmental-level and freshman composition, key courses that are fundamental to success in college and necessary for informed civil engagement. I thrive on teaching thesis-oriented composition, where students learn to refine their ideas and present their views with clarity and force.
More About Me
- I love the distinct four seasons which western Michigan offers, and I enjoy them best outdoors. I hike and bike the trails around Lake Michigan with my husband and twin teenagers, and in the winter we ski them.
- As an avid amateur horticulturist, I gather flower seeds in the fall and set them to germinate in a cold-frame during March. I also “force” fragrant, spring-flowering bulbs to bloom indoors all winter long.
- I am awed by the power of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s prose, and I am moved every time I read Beloved, her novel about dehumanization through slavery. It seems to me that no one appeals to the heart, gut, and conscience of America better than she does in telling the story of our troubled past.
- Three social commentators who hold my interest currently, whether through humor or provocative insight, are John Oliver, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Samantha Bee.