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I currently serve as the Editor-in-chief for Mallorn: The Journal of the Tolkien Society.

I am a recent PhD graduate of the School of Critical Studies at the University of Glasgow, and I am very happy to have been one of the first students to graduate from UofG’s new Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic. My PhD research focused on the reception of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by young readers. The Principal Supervisor of my research was Dr. Dimitra Fimi. You can read my PhD thesis here.

I received my Master of Arts (M.A.) from ETSU in 2017, also receiving ETSU’s John D. Allen Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in English at that time. During my time in the M.A. program, I served as a Graduate Assistant and taught several sections of composition and literature. 

As an M.A. student, I completed a thesis entitled “Celtic Water Hags, Violent Children, and Wild Men: Reexamining the Syncretic Nature of Beowulf” under the direction of Thomas H. Crofts. In addition to completing the M.A. requirements with distinction, I also presented research at eight conferences, and organized several campus activities.

Before attending ETSU for graduate studies, I worked as a high school English teacher for two years. I taught classes on American Literature, World Literature, and Communication. In this capacity, I learned much more than the content for the courses. I became a more effective communicator with students and learned how to manage a classroom and create engaging lessons that encourage students to be responsible for their own learning beyond school walls.

If you would like to see a copy of my most recent CV, you can download a copy here: Curriculum Vitae