My thesis was titled "Endurance and Hope: Christian Heroism in Tolkien's Legendarium." Chivalry, Beowulf, medieval mysticism, World War Iall wrapped up in Middle-earth. I'm originally from San Antonio, but am now living in the DFW area, working as an adjunct professor in the Integrated Reading and Writing Department at Collin College. I also run a teaching business on Outschool.com, where I offer classes on language, literature, and braille for ages 8-18. These tie my interests together: from 2012 to 2020, I freelance tutored elementary through college students in braille and assistive technology, and in grad school I was a TA for upper-level English courses. My favorite subject to tutor is Englishliterature, grammar, vocabulary, and the rest of it. Clear writing and solid reading comprehension are critical to any career path. But more than that, they allow us to form connections with one another across time and space. There is a reason we speak of the humanities. While I don't neglect practical skills, I have a nonutilitarian view of learning. The primary purpose of education is not to equip the laborer for the workforce, but to form the human person. I encourage my students first to love learning for its own sake, and then to find a use for it. This is both more enjoyable and more practical: you remember better, and pursue more deeply, the knowledge you learn for love. In my free time, I enjoy singing, playing the piano, and writing stories.

Creative writing, singing, piano, linguistics, astronomy