Curriculum Vitae

University Teaching Experience

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• English 121, Humanities Literature - Fall 2019
• English 101, Composition I - Spring 2020

Research Interests

Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American, The Civil War, Westward Expansion, Women's studies, African-American studies, Native American studies.

Historical Fiction, Narrative/Literary Nonfiction, Film: historical fiction, biopics, westerns. New Historicism, Narrative, Digital Humanities, Reader Response theories.

Graduate Assistant at IUP

Research Assistant to Dr. Veronica Watson, Fall 2017-Spring 2019

• Transcriptionist: The Short Stories of Frank Yerby, Spring-Fall 2018. Edited by Dr. Veronica Watson, University of Mississippi Press, 2020.
• Authored cover letters for the Literature and Criticism department newsletter distributions, 2017 and 2018 editions.
• Co-editor (2017) and contributing writer (2018), Literature and Criticism department newsletter.
• Collected, organized, and tallied department book orders.
• Alumni Database: managed entries for communications, data collection and analysis.

Research Assistant to Dr. Gail Berlin, Fall 2017

• “‘A Ditch Wondrously Deep’: The Ditch as Technology and Symbol in Layamon's Brut.” Delivered at the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 10-13, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• Literary Metaphor for an in-progress work.

Published Works

Edited Collection

• Cinematic Women, From Objecthood to Heroism: Essays on Female Gender Representation on Western Screens and in TV Productions. Ed. Lisa V. Mazey. Vernon Press, 2020.

Vernonpress.com Link

Book Chapter

• “Questions of Freedom and Power in Hitchcock’s Vertigo.” Cinematic Women, From Objecthood to Heroism: Essays on Female Gender Representation on Western Screens and in TV Productions. Ed. Lisa V. Mazey. Vernon Press, 2020.

Article

• “A Teenage Holocaust Diary: Writing Historical Fiction” Inspiring Pedagogical Connections, May 2020.

Wordpress.com Link

Academic Talks

Presented Papers

• History on Screen: American Historical Fiction Films and TV Shows session chair, NeMLA Virtual Conference, March 14, 2021.
• “Student Choice: Multiple Literacies Promote Engagement and Skill Acquisition” The Scholarship of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at West Chester University, West Chester PA, January 9, 2020.
• “Serious Mark Twain: A Contextual Historical Analysis of ‘Mark Twain on the Indians’” Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association, Pittsburgh, PA. November 7, 2019.
• “Windows on the World: The use of the close-up in The Photographer" EGO and CTA Spring Academic Conference, Indiana, PA. April 6, 2019.
• “Short Story Writing Project: Using a Blog to develop, revise, and complete a story” IUP Scholars Forum, Indiana, PA. April 3, 2019.
• Evolving Women in Film session chair, NeMLA, Washington, D. C. “Questions of Freedom and Power in Hitchcock’s Vertigo.” March 22, 2019.
• “Short Story Writing Project: Using a Blog to develop, revise, and complete a story” Eastern Association of Pennsylvania State Universities, Shippensburg, PA. October 6, 2018.
• “Alternative Literacies: How Student Choice Effectively Promotes Skill acquisition in an Inclusive Classroom” The 2018 Mid-Atlantic Conference on College Composition & Communication, Richmond, Virginia. May 25, 2018.

Accepted Paper

• “A Tide in Pedagogy – Non-Fiction Texts Add Value to the Literature Classroom” College English Association, Hilton Head, SC, March 26-28, 2020. Conference canceled.

University Service

• Center for Teaching Excellence Workshop Coordinator, “Promote Student Engagement and Transform Teacher Effectiveness in Online and Traditional Classrooms.” March 2021.
• Historian, English Graduate Organization, IUP, Indiana, PA. Banned Books Week at Stapleton Library. 2018-2019.

Awards

• Graduate Student Fellowship. School of Graduate Studies and Research. IUP, Indiana, PA. Fall 2018.
• Outstanding Scholarship Award for a Doctoral Student. IUP, Indiana, PA. 2019-2020.

Education

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PhD in Literature and Criticism, expected graduation 2022

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, M Ed in Literacy - Reading Specialist certification, 2007

Pennsylvania State University, BS in Secondary Education - English, 2001

Public School Teaching Experience

Marion Center Area School District
(2015-2016)

• Reading Specialist, grades K-6

Forest Hills School District
(2009-2015)

• Reading Specialist, grades 10-12
• Reading Specialist, grades K-6
• ELA grade 7

Conemaugh Valley Jr./Sr. High
(2004-2009)

• Secondary English, grades 7-12; Journalism and Yearbook Co-Advisor