Major/Minor: English-Creative Writing/Magazine Journalism

Writing-intensive classes: Creative Writing, Theories of Literature, Cultural Studies, Magazine Writing, British Literature I, Grammar and Composition, Theory and Practice of Technical Writing

Special interests: (Other than the obvious: reading and writing) Photography, Digital Art, Web design, Swing Dancing (in other words, pretending that I haven't forgotten everything but the basic step), oil painting, calligraphy, and learning Chinese watercolor

UCF Activities:

• Mu Chi Delta (Multiculturalism and Diversity Service Organization)
• Sigma Tau Delta (English Honor Society),
• Emerging Knights
• Cypress Collegiate Ministries

"Most authors [...] prefer having it understood that they compose by a species of fine frenzy--an ecstatic intuition--and would positively shudder at letting the public take a peep behind the scenes, at the elaborate and vacillating crudities of thought [...] which, in ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, constitute the properties of the literary histrio [artist]."

--Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition"

For as long as I can remember, I have had a fascination with stories. My parents greatly influenced this, as they read to me long before I could read for myself. I discovered the joy of creating stories when I took a basic Creative Writing class at Brevard Community College (at the suggestion of my Communications teacher). Since then I have been fascinated with telling stories; I see my creative writing as just that: story telling. I have recently shifted my focus from fictional story telling to non-fictional story telling. Last semester I discovered a love of magazines and magazine writing, and declared a minor in Magazine Journalism.

Revision has always been my favorite part of the writing process. I love to watch a collection of raw ideas, statements, and conclusions transform into a cohesive whole--a single creation that incorporates many raw elements into one polished product. Working at the Writing Center gives me the opportunity to guide others through that same revision process. Helping other students experience the excitement that comes from sculpting their ideas into a finished product allows me not only to experience that excitement with them, but also to feel that I am helping other writers in their endeavors of story telling.