Biographical Sketch

I came to NDSU in August 1997, so I missed the horrible winter and flood of 1996-97. I grew up in southwestern North Dakota, in a little town called Killdeer. I received my B.A. in English and in Anthropology from UND, and then took off to the big cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul to work in various companies until I got a job at the Science Museum where I worked for 5+ years in a variety of areas.  I decided to return to my roots of North Dakota and went back to school in Dickinson for a year to get my B.S. in Secondary Education in English. After doing my student teaching working with 120 8th graders I decided to continue onward and get my M.A. in English with an emphasis on British Literature. This was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I began teaching at NDSU in August 1998, and have taught a variety of writing courses, including Composition 110 and 120, Business Writing 215 and  Business and Tech. comm., and English 320. I enjoy seeing the progress of the students as they improve their writing skills, especially the first-year students. In the business classes, I try to emphasize skill areas that I found lacking when I worked in business for 10 years. Hopefully my students will be much better prepared no matter where they find employment after NDSU.

My hobbies, whenever I have time, include reading of course, especially British mysteries. My partner and I enjoy traveling to both Mexico and Canada, where we like to explore the less traveled areas and practice our other languages; he is fluent in Spanish and is learning Italian, but I still need to practice. I also like to quilt, both by hand and by machine, doing a wide variety of styles and patterns. It is a nice way to keep my hands busy while also keeping warm during the winter.