What does winning this award mean to you?

Winning this award means a great deal, both because I know the quality of my colleagues here at the university, and because it validates the work I’ve done to support students of color here at the university.

If you received this award on stage at a ceremony like the Oscars or the Grammys, what would you say?

I would thank my parents, for their love and support, and the 9-13 year old Black fourth graders back in Indianola, Mississippi, who taught me that to be an educator is a form of love. I would thank the Composition Program at the University of Oregon and my colleagues in it, the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence and their counselors who work with me to support our diverse students, and most of all, all those students I’ve taught over 17 years here working in diversity-retention, who have been my community and have given me far more than I have given them.

How would you describe what you do (i.e. teaching, research, etc.) to someone outside of the UO?

I teach writing to students of diverse backgrounds, working to validate their identities and lived experiences, and to help them find their voices and to gain traction in their education. A part of my work, especially my pedagogy, is inseparable from my work as a writer and literary organizer.

What was your favorite class or subject in high school? College?

I always loved literature/English classes in high school. In college, I loved classes on writing fiction.

What’s the most inspiring classroom moment you’ve experienced, either as a student or a teacher?

When I visited one of my former students from the Mississippi Delta (who I taught in fourth grade) at the Historically Black College she was about to graduate from, and she told me that everything I had tried to do the year I taught her had made a difference.

What are you listening to right now OR what is your favorite music to put on?

I have been listening to the Beach Boys and to a compilation record of vintage R&B on vinyl this week, and it’s doing it for me.

As you have transitioned to teaching remotely, what has been your guiding principle to ensure your students get the most out of your instruction?

I try to offer them the same respect and compassion and flexibility that I would like offered to me in a time when everything is a struggle and weighs heavily, and much that is difficult is also invisible or articulable.

Where can you be found when you’re not in the classroom (or in front of your computer on Zoom!)?

In the garden, in the woods, on the running trail and out bouldering, or with my face in a good book.