Education

Spalding University, Louisville, KY
M.F.A. in Creative Writing, November 2011

Hollins, Roanoke, VA
M.A. in English and Creative Writing, May 1997

Emory & Henry, Emory, VA
B.A. in English, May 1996
Honors Thesis: critical perspectives on Shakespeare

Post-Graduate Classes and Workshops

  • Appalachian Writers Workshop, Hindman Settlement School, 2006, 2017-2023
  • Highland Summer Conference, Radford University, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2024
  • Post-Graduate Residence Assistant, Spalding University, Spring 2017

Honors

  • Sigma Tau Delta, international English honor society
  • Phi Kappa Phi, honor society
  • Alpha Delta Kappa, International Honor Society for Women Educators
  • Advisory Excellence Award, Radford University, 2013-2014
  • Poetry Society of Virginia, 2024 Awards: 2nd Place, Cenie H. Moon Prize; Honorable Mention, Charlotte Wise Memorial; Honorable Mention, Strong Point of View
    • Poetry Society of Virginia, 2021 Awards: 2nd Place, Karma Deane Ogden Memorial
    • First Place for Poetry and Short Story in the Chautauqua Writing Contest, 2006
    • Second Place in the Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest, 2005
    • Finalist in the Hollins Literary Festival Fiction Prize, 1996
    • Winner of the Hollins Literary Festival Fiction Prize, 1995              
    • First Place in Short-Short Story in Abingdon Highland Festival, 1995

    Organizations

    • Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
    • The Poetry Society of Virginia (PSOV)
    • English Club at Radford University, faculty advisor, 2007-2014
    • Cardinal Key Honor Society and Sigma Mu Scholarship Society

    Work Experience

    English Instructor, Radford University, 1997-2014, 2017-present

    • Founded and organized annual Highlander Literary Festival
    • Brought guest writers to events, clubs, and classes
    • Advised senior theses, independent studies, and honors projects
    • Advised the English Club and Whim online magazine
    • Taught classes including the following:
      • Introduction to Expository Writing
      • Written and Oral Communication
      • Research Writing
      • Business and Professional Writing
      • Poetry Writing
      • Fiction Writing
      • Literature, including American, British and Commonwealth, and World

    English Instructor, New River Community College, 2024-present

    Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Hollins University, 2012-2016

    • Advised senior honors theses, both creative and critical
    • Mentored graduate teaching assistants
    • Taught the following writing-intensive and literary courses:
      • Dante
      • Medieval Literature
      • Shakespeare’s Women
      • Literature of the English Renaissance
      • Gothic Novel
      • Literature of the 17th-18th Century
      • 18th-century Novel
      • Wit and Wisdom in the 18th Century
      • Romantic Poetry
      • British Literature II
      • U.S. Literature to 1860
      • Appalachian Literature
      • World Literature II
      • Folk and Fairy Tales
      • Literature of the Fantastic
      • Advanced Expository Writing

    Additional Experience

    • Instructor, Governor’s School at Radford University, 2013-2014, 2022
    • Instructor, English Department of Hollins University, 2009-2010
    • Staff Writer, The Southwest Times, 2000-2001
    • Associate Editor, Yomu Corporation, 2000
    • Instructor, English Department of Virginia Tech, 1998-1999
    • Editor, The Ampersand literary arts magazine, Emory & Henry, 1994-1996