Associate Dean of Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University 

I coordinate the online BA and MA Creative Writing programs at Southern New Hampshire University. I work with Advising, Instructional Design, and Learning Resources—as well as other Deans at the University—to foster student success and retention. I also collaborate with faculty to continue refining and updating our writing programs, courses, and opportunities for students. 

I co-run a writing series, Word for Word, where we host writers and industry experts from a variety of backgrounds to help students understand craft and industry expectations. I am the editor of SNHU’s online literary journal, Penmen Review. Many of my program recommendations and decisions are based on current trends in creative writing across our four concentrations: fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and poetry. I’ve also served as a subject matter expert during course updates. I frequently teach our Online Teaching Experience course, where I help Teaching Assistants learn how to support and engage students in our first-year writing classrooms.  

Because of my experiences as an undergraduate writing consultant, I was able to fast-track an application at the Boise State University Writing Center, where I also served as a Graduate Assistant for the MFA program. After graduating, I applied for online tutoring and TA positions and was an adjunct instructor for first-year writing classes at Tallahassee Community College. When it was time to leave Florida, I applied to SNHU as an adjunct and was promoted to Lead Faculty. After spearheading an inclusion project for the BA creative writing program, I was promoted to the Associate Dean of Creative Writing. 

Working as a writing consultant had a major impact on me professionally. During my junior year, I applied to work as a writing consultant at the GVSU Writing Center. That soon became the Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors (or, as we affectionately called it, the F-MCfWaMA), and in my senior year, I became a lead consultant. That role gave me a lot of first-hand experience supporting writers from all backgrounds, and I was able to leverage that experience into nearly every teaching and professional opportunity since.

I also worked on fishladder and helped run a second literary journal, VEIL. Those experiences prepared me to work as a reader for The Idaho Review during my MFA and, eventually, to serve as editor of SNHU’s Penmen Review. The summer after I graduated, former GVSU professor Ander Monson also gave me a great opportunity to coordinate the Robert Olen Butler Prize stories. This helped me prepare for much of the administrative work I’ve done since, including my role as a GA at Boise State University and many of my day-to-day responsibilities at SNHU. 

Avoid going through the motions simply to obtain the degree. Instead, seek out extracurricular and professional opportunities whenever they arise. And when those opportunities come to you, say "yes". Those experiences will help you grow professionally and personally. There are many paths forward.