I am an Associate Lecturer at the University of Toledo where I teach Composition, Scientific and Technical Report Writing, and Organizational Report Writing.  In essence, I coach students to become more critical thinkers and, thus, stronger writers.  

 

I began my teaching career 18 years ago at Virginia Tech when I began a graduate program in English.  Upon completion of my M.A., During my work in the Ph.D. program in Technical Communication and Rhetoric at Texas Tech University, I taught Composition and Technical Writing while also serving as the Director of the Online Writing Lab (OWL) and Assistant Director for the Writing Center.  After leaving Texas Tech, my husband and I moved to Ohio, where I taught at Bowling Green State University.

 

Much of the reading I do is work and research related:  I read and respond to student texts, email,  blogs, and discussion forum posts;  I also read in the areas of computers and composition, rhetoric, technical communication, and cyber-culture.  In fact, I'm always reading something;  I never go anywhere without a book or my Kindle, so when I'm not reading work or research-related writing, I try to find the time for a good mystery or suspense thriller or contemporary fiction.  Truthfully, I will read almost anything, and my husband recently persuaded me to give both the science-fiction and fantasy genres a better try.  Some of my favorite authors include Richard Russo, Suzanne Collins, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Virginia Woolf, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and Flannery O'Connor, to name a few.

 

I've always been a writer, or as a good friend calls me, a "word-tinker".  I can't remember a time when I haven't put pen to paper to help me explore ideas or think things through.  I am a great believer in both personal and public power of the written word.  I spend a great deal of time writing, but never seem to have enough time for all the project ideas I have.

 

When I'm not writing, you will most likely find me helping out with a Cub Scout event for my son's Pack organize a Cub Scout activity  When I'm not helping with something Cub Scout related, you might find me at my son's football, basketball, or baseball games, at a Mud Hens game in the summer, or watching any Virginia Tech or BYU sporting event, but especially football games, that I can catch on the air.  

 

One of my other passions is photography, so in addition to always having reading material with me, I nearly always have a camera with me.  I take lots of pictures of friends and family and even some of things that most people wouldn't have any interest in.  (On a five-week trip across country, I took nearly two thousand pictures, most of which I still need to edit.)   So in addition to samples of my writing, you may also find some of my photography here in my portfolio.