I am a graduate student at Loyola University Chicago seeking a PhD in English and a concentration in Women Studies and Gender Studies. My subject areas are contemporary literature of the Americas, postcolonial literature, and feminist and gender theory, and my dissertation focuses on voluntary identity. I received my MA from Loyola in 2007 and my BA in English with a minor in International Studies from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2006. I also received an Associates Degree in Missions from Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri in 2002. I have taught College Writing and Women in Literature part time at Loyola as well as writing and humanities courses at Truman College and Illinois Institute of Technology.
I have written a column for a LGBTQ publications in Chicago and have done other LGBTQ-community writings, which I archive on this blog. I also manage the blog and Facebook group associated with OCC Out, a project connecting LGBTQ and allied alumni of Ozark Christian College. I manage OCC Talks, a Facebook group for OCC alumni to discuss the issue of homosexuality and the Church.
I attend Broadway United Methodist Church, am a big fan of welcoming churches, and love Jesus like mad. I volunteer with a safe space for LGBTQ and allied youth in Lakeview. I am also involved with Genderqueer Chicago, an inclusive community focused on thinking and talking about gender.
I am partnered to a lovely person named T.