Diversity Statement

When I was 21, I was lucky enough to find myself in an incredibly frustrating situation that would shape my entire teaching career. With several years of university completed, I began an internship teaching English in Greece. I was extremely excited by the opportunity, but I knew almost nothing about their educational system and could not speak, read, or write Greek. I had passion, plans, and dreams, but I had almost no voice outside of the English lessons I facilitated. My host mom and a few friends spoke English, but most days I sat mute, going through motions of social situations only engaging when I heard my name. It was humbling, and I hated it. Through that situation and my frustration, my passion for language teaching found my purpose for language teaching: I never want(ed) anyone to feel as if their voice could not be heard or was stymied by a lack of communication tools. Since then, I have used my experience to connect with students who may be facing similar challenges and help them succeed.

Throughout my career, I have built curricula for and worked with underrepresented or misrepresented student populations (English Language Learners, Developmental Education Students, non-traditional students) at various levels (high school, community college, four-year college) in myriad settings (Southern urban schools, Midwest rural and urban schools) in addition to traditional college students in program-level courses. With all of these groups, two of my greatest challenges have been to help students find a balance of hard and soft communication skills and motivate them to strengthen their skill set. As a writing and communications instructor, I try to empower students to be true to their voices, use their language tools, make thoughtful language choices, and produce good, effective communication, not communication that is “good enough.” I endeavor to have students not only learn writing conventions, grammar, and mechanics they will need, but I encourage them to think critically about why we are studying certain concepts, how we can use this knowledge in different situations, how our choices impact practices, and why certain communication techniques may be more effective than others. Students learn to question conventions, explore how language changes over time, and synthesize information when developing their own voice and style.

To hone these skills and encourage them to push their boundaries, students are encouraged to explore rhetoric and make mistakes in a respectful, fun environment. My main goals are to have a balance of traditional teaching methods (lecture, testing, reports) and newer, innovative teaching methods (experiential and collaborative learning, simulations, multimodal assessment) and allow students to have input into what they learn. I have students peer review and work in small groups to expose them to different perspectives while helping them develop interpersonal skills. Student teams in my professional writing courses participate in experiential learning to research one aspect of a small, locally-owned business, navigate research, write a recommendation report, and present their findings. Working on this project, students feel more connected to the community and local businesses and often see their ideas implemented or team members hired for internships or full-time positions. These successes enable them to experience firsthand how theory can morph into praxis outside the classroom. Assignments are not static, hypothetical scenarios but evolve into complex situations that affect profit margins and paychecks.

Daily, new language rules are being written and new practices are being implemented. Our students need to be able to understand, respect, challenge, navigate, and adapt to them. In this way, they can overcome communication challenges, find their passion and purpose, confidently use their voices, and be heard!