Where did you live/work before coming to Western?
Prior to coming to Western, I taught language arts, history, and service learning at a high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I also was an instructor in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico, primarily teaching critical methods-based literacy courses to pre-service and practicing language arts teachers.
What is your area of specialty?
My areas of specialty are English education, young adult literature, and critical pedagogy. Much of my work focuses on the interplay between canonical works, nontraditional texts, young adult literature, and multimodality in diverse classrooms, and looks to examine the daily pedagogical choices practicing teachers make regarding the teaching of literature in the face of neoliberal reforms. My research also explores Critical Praxis Research (CPR) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) as critically conscious research methodologies that bridge the divide between practitioner and scholar.
It’s been an odd year (to say the least!) for teaching, but what do you like so far about being at Western?
This definitely has not been how I imagined my first year as an assistant professor at Western going! That being said, there have been so many bright spots in my first year here. Through advising and teaching methods courses, I have met a passionate group of students who are going to be intelligent, critical, and deeply caring future teachers. In my young adult literature courses, I have had the privilege to work with some of the most creative readers, authors, and artists I have ever met, students who understand the value of diverse, raw, and beautiful texts for adolescents (and adults!). I have had such a strong support group of faculty within our English department and am thankful for them every single day.
What stirs joy within you outside of your work?
I am a firm believer in the necessity of cultivating a life outside of work. Each and every day, I try to make time for the things in my life that bring me joy: dancing, yoga, spending time with friends and family, hiking, and hunting for authentic New Mexican food in the PNW. I always have a book on hand that I am reading simply for the pleasure of reading…and I never feel guilty about it.
What is your secret “super power”? Tell us something that others may not know about you.
I’m a rhythm tap dancer, choreographer, and performer. I’ve been dancing since I was five years old and it is one of my life’s passions. On long weekends and vacations, I’m typically back in Albuquerque performing with the New Mexico-based Alley Kats Tap Company or teaching choreography for the amazing middle and high school students that make up the Rio Rancho Youth Choir.
