Education
M.F.A. Creative Writing, Temple University, May 2012.
M.A. English—Creative Writing, Temple University, May 2001.
B.A. English Literature with a concentration in Writing, Central Connecticut
State University, May 1997.
Field of Specialization
Rhetoric and Composition (focusing on critical writing and critical thinking); Creative Writing (fiction, nonfiction, journalism); Business Writing; Romantic Poetry; Victorian Poetry; American Realism (with a concentration in Mid-Western writers of the early 20th Century); Modern American and British Fiction; Contemporary American Fiction.
Teaching Experience
Pennsylvania State University, Abington, 8/2002 – Present
Independent Study (Eng. 496)
Advanced Expository Writing (Eng. 421)
Advanced Creative Non-Fiction Writing (Eng. 415)
Advanced Fiction Writing (Eng. 412)
Independent Study (Eng. 296)
Article Writing (Eng. 215)
Creative Writing: Fiction (Eng. 212)
Writing for the Social Sciences (Eng. 202A)
Writing for the Humanities (Eng. 202B)
Business Writing (Eng. 202D)
The Cold War (Eng. 183)
American Folklore (Eng. 170)
Introduction to Creative Writing (Eng. 050)
Rhetoric and Composition (Eng. 015)
Free Writing Time (Eng. 006)
Writing Tutorial (Eng. 005)
Basic Writing Skills (Eng. 004)
Faculty Advisor to undergraduate literary magazine, The Abington Review since 2012.
Temple University, 9/1999 – 12/2002
English Composition and Rhetoric
Technical Writing
Community College of Philadelphia, 9/2001 – 1/2002
English Composition and Rhetoric
Basic Reading Skills
Professional Organizations
Member, Associated Writing Programs since 1992.
Member, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society
Member, The Sinclair Lewis Society
Publications
Creative Non-Fiction:
“The King Of Commerce,” Route Magazine, Aug./Sept. 2021.
“The Legend,” Route Magazine, June/July 2021.
“Steeped In History,” Route Magazine, Feb./March 2021.
“Red, Gold and Open,” Rosebud, 63, Fall 2017.
“The Cathedral of Denny’s,” Harpur Palate, 2015
“The Wheat and Chaff of Clyde,” Palo Alto Review, 2014
“Tea Time,” American Road Magazine, Spring 2014
“Potatoes in Wonderland,” American Road Magazine, Spring 2014
“Fallingwater,” American Road Magazine, Winter, 2013
“Lincoln Highway Drinking Fountains,” American Road Magazine, Winter 2013
“Curing Acrophobia in the Twilight Zone,” Rosebud, Vol. 55
“Findin’ Franklin,” American Road Magazine, Vol. XI, No. 2.
“In Clyde, Where the Wheat Was,” Steam Ticket, May 2013
Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide, Contributor, 16th Edition.
“The Frantic Fantastic Life in Oklahoma,” Bluestem, 2012.
“The Ruins Between the Gates of Time,” Concho River Review, 2012.
“Lincoln Highwaymen,” American Road Magazine, Vol. IX, No. 3.
“Purgatory in the Tropics,” Bluestem, 2011.
“Ohio, 2001: The Wait at The Reed House,” The Evansville Review, Vol. XXI.
“The Dead of Winesburg,” Rosebud, Issue #49, January 2011.
“Conelrad in the Wigwam Motel,” Lost on Route 66, April 2009.
“Wrink Wrinkle’s Memory,” Route 66 Federation News, Vol. 16, No. 1.
“Route 66 in the Land of Lincoln,” The Rockford Review, Winter/Spring 2009-2010.
“Remembering John’s Modern Cabins,” Route 66 Federation News, Vol. 15, No. 4.
“Significant Landscapes Heading to California,” Amtrak’s Whistle Stop, June 2007.
“Old photos, dying memories need to find rightful owners,
The Chestnut Hill Local, January 18, 2007.
“Patriot Act,” Philly Style Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2006.
“On the Road Again: A Trilogy, Pt.3,” Route 66 Magazine, Spring 2005.
“On the Road Again: A Trilogy, Pt.2,” Route 66 Magazine, Winter 2004/2005.
“On the Road Again: A Trilogy, Pt.1,” Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2004.
“At McMenamin’s, zombies and 9/11 both terrifying,”
The Chestnut Hill Local, April 8, 2004.
“Have You Slept in a Wigwam Lately?” Route 66 Federation News, Vol. 9, No. 4.
“Images of the U-Drop Inn,” Route 66 Federation News, Vol. 8, No. 4.
“Dear Mr. Salinger,” Letters to J.D. Salinger, Pg. 197, May 2002.
“Bush Comes to Shove,” The Chestnut Hill Local, August 10, 2000.
“Letter From London: How I Learned I was an Ugly American,”
The Chestnut Hill Local, June 1, 2000.
Many more upon request
Short Stories:
“The Stillness Of Remembering,” Bull, June 2019.
“About Facing Freedom With A Little Fear,” The Alembic, Spring 2019.
“Corroded Cotton Vines,” The MacGuffin,Vol. XXXIII, No.3, Fall 2017.
“A Phenomenon Of No Natural Process,” Flint Hills Review, Summer 2016
“Beautiful Music,” Bull, November 2014.
“DaysInn 29, 1997,” Bluestem (online version), March 2013.
“The Hu Ke Lau Break-Up,” Vermont Literary Review, 2012.
“Success Like The Red Line Preacher,” Taproot 24.
“The Black-Drop of the Universe,” Willard & Maple, XV.
“Success For The Red Line Preacher,” Pinion Journal, Spring 2011.
“The Black-Drop of Brick Apartments,” Cooweescoowee, Spring 2011.
“Lily,” Berkeley Fiction Review, #25.
“Love’s Laugh in the Dark,” Mobius, June 2001.
“Caught on Race,” Pangolin Papers, Spring 2001.
“Pedestrian Traffic,” Pangolin Papers, Spring 1999.
“You Don’t Need a Quarter,” Berkeley Fiction Review, #17.
“Always Eat the Favorites,” Just a Moment, Spring 1995.
“Heaven Hide Your Eyes,” The Helix, Fall 1994.
“Tomorrow’s News,” The Helix, Fall 1993.
Poetry:
“Jazz Man,” The Helix, Fall 1994.
“Blazers,” The Helix, Spring 1994.
“The Motel, Last Night,” The Helix, Fall 1993.
Book Reviews:
Bucket List Bars—Clint Lanier & Derek Hembree—American Road Magazine,
Winter 2013
The Cultural Life of the Automobile—Guillermo Gucci—American Road Magazine,
Winter 2012
The Road to Somewhere—James A. Reeves—American Road Magazine, Spring 2012.
Wish You Were Here—Tim Hollis—American Road Magazine, Spring 2012.
Diners of the Capital District, Mike Engle—American Road Magazine, Spring 2012.
Responsible Men, Ed Schwartzchild—Philly Style Magazine, Sept./Oct. 2005.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss—The Chestnut Hill Local, July 1, 2004.
The White City, Alec Michod—The Chestnut Hill Local, June 3, 2004.
Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk —The Chestnut Hill Local, March 27, 2003.
Sinclair Lewis: Rebel From Main Street, Richard Lingeman
—The Chestnut Hill Local, March 21, 2002.
The Automat, Lorraine B. Diehl —The Chestnut Hill Local, December 19, 2002.
Honors
Honored with Outstanding Teacher Award (Non-Tenure Line) 2022, Penn State Abington.
Lionheart Award—Bestowed on a Faculty/Staff Member of Penn State Abington by Graduating Student Class, 2019.
Chief Ogontz Award—Highest Honor Bestowed on a Faculty/Staff Member of Penn State Abington by Student Body, 2018.
Honorable Mention, Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 16-18, 2018; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Kelsey Pursel
AWP Directors’ Prize For Content 2016, Association Of Writers And Writing Program, (AWP), The Abington Review—Faculty Advisor.
First Place Winner, Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 13-14, 2015; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Thomas W. Van Osten IV, “The Actual and Imagined Communities of Cold War Paranoia.”
Semi-Finalist for The Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize 2015
First Place Winner, Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 7-8, 2014; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Thomas W. Van Osten IV, “The Uncollected Short Stories Of J.D. Salinger.”
Honored with Special Recognition Award 2013, Penn State.
Honored with Outstanding Teacher Award (Instructor) 2011, Penn State.
Honorable Mention: Mainstream/Literary Short Story Category, Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition, 2010.
Honorable Mention: Mainstream/Literary Short Story Category, Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition, 2009.
Second Place, Sports Photo of the Year, Keystone Award, 2009, The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
First Place, Best Standard Ad Design, 2009, The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2009, Penn State.
Second Place, Ad Campaign or Series, 2008, The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2008, Penn State.
Five Design Awards (2 First Place, 2 Second Place, 1 Third Place) 2007, The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Keystone Award, First Place for Series, Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, 2006—Hiller Revisits America.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2006, Penn State.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2005, Penn State.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2004, Penn State.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher 2003, Penn State.
Honored as an Outstanding Teacher, Temple University, Spring 2001.
Teaching Excellence Certificate, Temple University, Fall 2000.
First Place Winner in Short Story Contest, Just a Moment magazine, Spring 1995
Conferences, Readings, Seminars
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 16-18, 2019; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Eric Seamans, “Nuclear Anxiety in The Twilight Zone.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 16-18, 2018; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with William Connor, “Artists Need To Eat, Too! New Deal Artwork in Pennsylvania Post Offices.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 16-18, 2018; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Kelsey Pursel, “Help! I’m So Defenseless: Women Characters In Atomic Pulp Fiction.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 13-14, 2017; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with William Connor, “A Public Trial for J. Robert Oppenheimer.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 13-14, 2017; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Samuel Santiago, “Zombies as Metaphor for 9/11.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair, April 13-14, 2015; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Thomas W. Van Osten IV, “The Actual and Imagined Communities of Cold War Paranoia.”
Penn State Abington Student Government Association; January 21, 2015, Panelist for “Media Reality.”
Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities Poster Fair; April 7-8, 2014; Faculty Advisor and co-writer with Thomas W. Van Osten IV, “The Uncollected Short Stories Of J.D. Salinger.”
Penn State Abington Student Government Association; April 1, 2013, Keynote Speaker—“Pop-Culture Maturity.”
Penn State Undergraduate English Conference; March 27, 2004, Texts, Media, & Cultural Literacy in the 21st Century, Moderator— “A Path of Feminist Consciousness: Narrative Essays.”
Central Connecticut State University; November 11, 2003, Lecturer — “I Could Write a Book.”
Reading at Temple Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; November 2, 2000.
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