Portfolio
This is my career portfolio, a collection of projects I've initiated and delivered, accomplishments in throughout my work, as well as other personal and professional achievements.
Below, I am highlighting the many pieces of the puzzle in my personal and professional journey. Included below are projects managed, trainings and workshop created and delivered, curriculum designed and assessed, and my personal achievements in volunteering, writing, and mentoring.
The threads of my personal and professional interests directly relate to my strengths of Intellection, Learner, Achiever, Input, and Relator, as I describe below.
CliftonStrengths
Training and Workshops
First Year Seminar New Faculty Training.pdfFaculty Orientation
For three years, I managed the first-year academic program at Berry College. This is an example of an orientation for faculty who were new to teaching the first-year seminar. Its purpose was to communicate workflow and required activities to faculty, while offering a space for questions and answers regarding teaching in the program.
Reflection in Teaching and Learning 08-13-24.pdfReflective Teaching and Learning for Faculty Development
I have collaborated with the Center for Teaching and Learning to offer workshops on implementing reflection in the classroom. I designed this workshop with my colleague in the Writing Center to offer to 40 faculty across disciplines in a three-hour faculty development workshop.
Mapping Your Berry Experience Workshop.pptxOdyssey Planning Workshop
I collaborated with the Career for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) at Berry College to design and deliver a major and career exploration workshop for sophomores. While participating in a Life Design Studio with Stanford, we identified the need for more intentional programming for sophomores at the college. We then prototyped this workshop during the Studio. This workshop became pillar of our inaugural campus-wide Major and Career Exploration Week, created by my office and the CPPD.
GCPA Workshop 11-08-24.pdfHigher Education Career Workshop
I collaborated with my colleague in the Career for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) at Berry College to design and deliver a workshop for career exploration within higher education. We presented this at the Georgia College Personnel Association (GCPA) Conference in November 2024. Participants were given worksheets to map their career experiences and explore their strengths and values for current and future work in higher education.
Research, in Theory and Practice
Research is a large part of my life, in both my academic past and in my administrative present. For my dissertation, I conducted a large-scale qualitative research study and later published the results of that study.
In my program management, I have designed focus groups, feedback surveys, and document analysis to lead curriculum assessment and revision efforts.
Curriculum Development and Course Delivery
As the leader of the first-year program, I led curriculum revision and delivery efforts for 40 faculty in our program each year. I built lesson plans based on providing academic success strategies and career planning skills, and navigating institutional resources through collaboration with various offices on campus, such as well-being, diversity and belonging, and the leadership institute.
I am passionate about music and using music as a framework to talk about life's beauty and tragedy. I designed the curriculum for Women and Music to offer a music course, based in gender studies, for general students so that they could learn musical language to speak about the music they enjoy and could talk about their gendered identities through music. I used a feminist pedagogy in my course and invited students to speak from their lived experiences when analyzing the music.
In both qualitative research courses, for master's and doctoral students, I taught on the mechanics of doing a qualitative research study, such as collecting data through interviews, focus groups, and documents; analyzing and interpreting data; and writing up the research study. I coached adult students through both how to think about qualitative research and how to do qualitative research. The end result for each class was a completed original pilot study conducted by each student on a topic related to their teaching or professional career.
Personal Influences
Some personal interests and hobbies that have guided my career (or, at least, have made my world a brighter place), include music-making, writing, and tea-drinking. You'll find my work spaces will always have a big tea basket and a hot water kettle. I take pride in the creative thinking and problem-solving that I do in my work, which I see as a natural outgrowth of my personal interests and skills...and, there is usually music playing in the background of whatever space I occupy.
Musician
I have been a musician my whole life, since I could physically pull myself up on the piano bench to reach the keys. I studied music in undergraduate and graduate school and played a variety of genres throughout that education: classical, jazz, contemporary Christian, pop. I continue to play at home for my own enjoyment.
Writer & Poet
My favorite hobby has always been some form of creative writing. I have kept a journal since I was eight years old and I have written prose and poetry consistently throughout my life. I have been writing a book for a while, in bits and pieces, and hope to one day publish it.
Tea Enthusiast
I visited England when I was fifteen and never let go of my obsession with tea that started there. My favorite teas are Earl Grey and Lady Grey, which I usually drink with milk and sugar.