My association with Jackson Preparatory School has deep roots. I remember it beginning when I attended Madison Ridgeland Academy (mascot: also the Patriots). My friends and I, fully clad in high-school band regalia, blowing on our hands and horns to ward off the chilliest of January storms, would scream "Beat those Patriots!" at the top of our lungs from the opposing stands. Little did I foresee the irony.

Several years later, completing an English and Secondary Education degree at Mississippi College, I selected "my old enemy" as one of two sites for student teaching. In a matter of weeks, I had become the enemy - and I loved it. I spent six weeks with Ms. Anna Freundt teaching 11th and 11th Honors (American Lit) English and was confirmed in my passion for education. I have since had experience teaching students at every level of high school as well as with freshman-/sophomore-level college courses, and I understand how lucky instructors are to interact with the caliber of students Jackson Prep attracts.

After taking my degree from MC, I left Mississippi for Toronto, Canada, pursuing a master's degree in British medieval poetry (always the practical one in my family, you understand). Subsequent to a crisis of faith about Ph.D. work, I returned to my home state seeking a teaching job - and only one name was on my wishlist. Unfortunately, no positions were then open. It was thus that I exchanged my white collar for blue and painted houses in Jackson for nine months (so there really is a practical side to me somewhere). Soon enough, the phone call from Susan Lindsay came and I joined Prep's English department teaching sophomore and senior English courses in the fall of 2003.

If my previous affiliations with the school could be considered a long courtship and engagement, then I have, since 2003, experienced the most joyful of marriages; each day I work with students produces challenges and accomplishments in equal measure - each morning I am eager to re-commit to the journey which is my prevailing passion and calling.

Current Courses Taught: College Preparatory English 12; Christian Literature

Sponsorships: Academic Competition Team (Quiz Bowl); Senior Class Sponsor; Madison County Teenage Republicans.

Professional Interests: Medieval and Renaissance poetry; the epic tradition; "Christian fictions" (fictional works on biblical themes); aesthetics and issues of censorship; Post-Enlightenment anxieties of influence and canon formation; the moralities of reading and writing; comparative literature.

Activities I Enjoy in my Spare Time (haha that's funny even when I type it): golfing, tennis, jogging; traveling; reading (imagine that); visiting and being with friends; writing; looking after Eastwood, the greatest feline since Egypt.

Last Updated: Spring 2007.