While I wasn't familiar with the subject matter, I was able to ask in-depth questions to learn enough about Dr. Newman's research for his essay presentation to write and edit this article for the Missouri State University's English Department blog. Upon his review, he said, "I wanted to email you to compliment you on the wonderful profile you wrote. You managed to turn my academic gobbled-gook into something intelligible—no mean feat! Glad we have you at your post."

The English Department blog at Missouri State University is a way for the department to show students how alum are using their English degrees, but it also acts as a marketing tool. For this article, I interviewed retired professor, Phyllis Bixler, about the scholarship she established in her parent's memory. She was a joy to speak with and excited to read the final copy. 

When Dr. Bixler read the article she said, "You did an excellent job of putting what you learned from me into an article that hits all the important points and moves along nicely. Your article indicates that you are a good listener, are sensitive to the issues involved, and are a good writer!"

This article is in a queue to be published. 

Atlas Obscura is a travel website unlike any other. For submissions to be accepted, articles need to be well-written about locations that are interesting and not featured on typical travel sites. When I visited Lake Lure, North Carolina and learned about the town's history, I knew I had to submit it to their travel guide! This is one of two articles that I have published with Atlas Obscura.

There are a lot of interesting locations around the St. Louis area on the Atlas Obscura website. I was excited when I found one that wasn't found in the guide! This is the second article I have published on the travel site.

For my nonfiction writing course, we were to write a memoir. Labor Day weekend was approaching, so I decided to take a trip to Estes Park, Colorado so I would have something fresh and interesting to write about for the assignment.  That was the weekend in 2020 when the fires erupted again, threatening the Rocky Mountain National Park and the city of Estes Park.