WRITING EXPERIENCE:
» Earned Bachelor of Science Degree in English from Slippery Rock University
» Working as a staff writer at The News Herald
» Previously worked as a freelance writer/columnist for The News Herald
» Accepted into the Morganton Writers' Group (2013)
» Researched and wrote articles for learning center and university newspaper
» Researched and created reports to help companies save money and make decisions
» Took meeting minutes for a community organization for four years
» Completed the "Writing an Effective Business Plan" workshop through the Small Business Center at Western Piedmont Community College
WRITING MISSION STATEMENT:
I like the concept of using writing to help others. What I would like most is for my writing to bring clarity and build bridges across different mindsets so that something of value can be accomplished.
WRITING SAMPLES:
1) "THOUGHTS ON A 'YAHOO CAREERS' WORLD" (published in The News Herald on June 30, 2013)
A recent article on the Yahoo Careers website entitled, "Don't Let Your Kids Study These Majors in College" claimed that the fields of Architecture, Fine Arts, Anthropology, Archaeology, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Film, Video and Photographic Arts were giving graduates a 10 to 14 percent unemployment rate, and advised avoiding these subjects as majors. The article then went on to list majors that would guarantee students the most lucrative financial return on their investment, fields mostly involving business or technology.
The article made me think of all the students who will soon be going off to college, and wonder if they and their parents should only look at how much money a job in a particular field of study can offer them when deciding on a college major. If so, what does that say about us as a society, and what will our society look like in the future if this way of thinking prevails?
Now, I completely understand parents' eagerness for their children to become financially successful and independent, but there must be a way to accomplish that without shutting out whole disciplines of study and thought, disciplines that give our civilization its soul and beauty. I hate to imagine what our world would look like if we got to a point where no one was studying or making art, in any form, and what that bleak landscape would say about us to future generations. Architecture not only puts roofs over our heads, which is infinitely practical, but also leaves an important historical record of the ideas of societies over time. For instance, one can learn a lot about the Victorians by studying how their home styles evolved over the course of the 19th century.
What would happen if no one studied other religions or cultures? I have a feeling that we would see even more wars over religious and cultural conflicts due to ignorance and misunderstandings. In fact, what would our world look like now if the ancient Greeks had dispensed with all that philosophy hokum to pursue commerce and other money making ventures exclusively? Oh yes; we wouldn't have any concept of things like democracy, human rights, and other pillars of civilization that came out the minds of those philosophers. But we'd already be neglecting the archaeological record anyway, so we'd be too busy repeating all the mistakes we should have learned from history in the first place.
So if everyone decides to choose a career path based on financial returns, will our desendants look back on us and praise our thriftiness, or condemn our short-sightedness? Would they even have the ability to think at all? I propose, that while we still possess the treasures of knowledge and imagination gained through all fields of study, we get together and come up with a solution that allows us to keep these treasures, and food on the table as well. I, for one, would like to give those coming after us a life worth living, not just a way to live.
2) "Grandma's House"
1983:
The trailer sat like a mother hen while we,
her tireless chicks,
chased each other around the haven of her body,
engrossed in the business of childhood.
1993:
The trailer sat, one shutter hanging,
the walk choked with weeds.
Two darkened windows stared out at me
like the eyes of a child lost in the woods.
3)"HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY HEROES"
During my quest to find a more fulfilling job, I have often read helpful job search "coaching" articles on Yahoo. One of the articles I read listed the ten or twenty most asked interview questions, and how one should answer them in order to make oneself a more attractive job candidate. One of the questions was, "Who is your hero, and why?" I believe the article advised potential interviewees to somehow relate their choice to the job they were seeking. So in an atmosphere of trembling conformity and Herculean efforts to project the ideal fit, I have been rather daunted by the realization that both my heavenly hero, Jesus, and my earthly hero, Henry David Thoureau, were both unrepentant non-conformists.
Jesus is my hero not only because He died for the sin of everyone in the world, and personally took my hand and led me out of all manner of dysfunction and bondage; but also because he stood Rock strong in His beliefs of how His Father wanted things done and never wavered once, even to the point of death. He told kings and priests and everyone else what they needed to do to make things right, even if they tried to throw him off a cliff in response. I can only hope His spirit dwelling in me will empower me to have even an echo of that level of courage in my own convictions.
Similarly, Henry David Thoreau, at least from what I know of him from his magnum opus, Walden, had a deep conviction to see his world in a way that most other people couldn't be bothered with, and to point out its shortcomings no matter what the consequence. What really resonates with me in his writing is just how vital and appropriate his observations still are today. Would he have ever guessed that men still "lead lives of quiet desperation" and are "determined not to live by faith if they can help it"? And yet for all the stubborness and oddity that his fellow townspeople saw in him as he followed his conscience and sucked as much marrow out of his life as he possibly could, his are the words that are read and cherished over a century later.
These are my role models; the ones I am looking up to as I sit at that interview table. Am I doomed to be shut out of the working world perpetually if I speak the convictions of my spirit? And if so, will my life be all the more interesting and worthwhile because of it? And so the journey goes on...
ADDITIONAL ESSAYS:
A recent article on the Yahoo Careers website entitled, "Don't Let Your Kids Study These Majors in College" claimed that the fields of Architecture, Fine Arts, Anthropology, Archaeology, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Film, Video and Photographic Arts were giving graduates a 10 to 14 percent unemployment rate, and advised avoiding these subjects as majors. The article then went on to list majors that would guarantee students the most lucrative financial return on their investment, fields mostly involving business or technology.
The article made me think of all the students who will soon be going off to college, and wonder if they and their parents should only look at how much money a job in a particular field of study can offer them when deciding on a college major. If so, what does that say about us as a society, and what will our society look like in the future if this way of thinking prevails?
Now, I completely understand parents' eagerness for their children to become financially successful and independent, but there must be a way to accomplish that without shutting out whole disciplines of study and thought, disciplines that give our civilization its soul and beauty. I hate to imagine what our world would look like if we got to a point where no one was studying or making art, in any form, and what that bleak landscape would say about us to future generations. Architecture not only puts roofs over our heads, which is infinitely practical, but also leaves an important historical record of the ideas of societies over time. For instance, one can learn a lot about the Victorians by studying how their home styles evolved over the course of the 19th century.
What would happen if no one studied other religions or cultures? I have a feeling that we would see even more wars over religious and cultural conflicts due to ignorance and misunderstandings. In fact, what would our world look like now if the ancient Greeks had dispensed with all that philosophy hokum to pursue commerce and other money making ventures exclusively? Oh yes; we wouldn't have any concept of things like democracy, human rights, and other pillars of civilization that came out the minds of those philosophers. But we'd already be neglecting the archaeological record anyway, so we'd be too busy repeating all the mistakes we should have learned from history in the first place.
So if everyone decides to choose a career path based on financial returns, will our desendants look back on us and praise our thriftiness, or condemn our short-sightedness? Would they even have the ability to think at all? I propose, that while we still possess the treasures of knowledge and imagination gained through all fields of study, we get together and come up with a solution that allows us to keep these treasures, and food on the table as well. I, for one, would like to give those coming after us a life worth living, not just a way to live.
2) "Grandma's House"
1983:
The trailer sat like a mother hen while we,
her tireless chicks,
chased each other around the haven of her body,
engrossed in the business of childhood.
1993:
The trailer sat, one shutter hanging,
the walk choked with weeds.
Two darkened windows stared out at me
like the eyes of a child lost in the woods.
3)"HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY HEROES"
During my quest to find a more fulfilling job, I have often read helpful job search "coaching" articles on Yahoo. One of the articles I read listed the ten or twenty most asked interview questions, and how one should answer them in order to make oneself a more attractive job candidate. One of the questions was, "Who is your hero, and why?" I believe the article advised potential interviewees to somehow relate their choice to the job they were seeking. So in an atmosphere of trembling conformity and Herculean efforts to project the ideal fit, I have been rather daunted by the realization that both my heavenly hero, Jesus, and my earthly hero, Henry David Thoureau, were both unrepentant non-conformists.
Jesus is my hero not only because He died for the sin of everyone in the world, and personally took my hand and led me out of all manner of dysfunction and bondage; but also because he stood Rock strong in His beliefs of how His Father wanted things done and never wavered once, even to the point of death. He told kings and priests and everyone else what they needed to do to make things right, even if they tried to throw him off a cliff in response. I can only hope His spirit dwelling in me will empower me to have even an echo of that level of courage in my own convictions.
Similarly, Henry David Thoreau, at least from what I know of him from his magnum opus, Walden, had a deep conviction to see his world in a way that most other people couldn't be bothered with, and to point out its shortcomings no matter what the consequence. What really resonates with me in his writing is just how vital and appropriate his observations still are today. Would he have ever guessed that men still "lead lives of quiet desperation" and are "determined not to live by faith if they can help it"? And yet for all the stubborness and oddity that his fellow townspeople saw in him as he followed his conscience and sucked as much marrow out of his life as he possibly could, his are the words that are read and cherished over a century later.
These are my role models; the ones I am looking up to as I sit at that interview table. Am I doomed to be shut out of the working world perpetually if I speak the convictions of my spirit? And if so, will my life be all the more interesting and worthwhile because of it? And so the journey goes on...
ADDITIONAL ESSAYS:
Published in First Baptist Church of Morganton's 2013 Advent Devotional Guide:
Published in The News Herald on September 8, 2013:
Published in The News Herald on April 13, 2014:
Published in The News Herald on September 14, 2014:
Published in The News Herald on January 26, 2014:
WRITING NEWS AND EVENTS:
Members of the Morganton Writers' Group were asked to speak about their work at the Rotary Club on July 29, 2015.
The Morganton Writers' Group and Burke Writers' League participated in a writers' workshop given by Jay Leutze, author of Stand up That Mountain, on March 19th, 2015. The workshop, offered as part of the Burke County Public Library's Author's Luncheon, gave us the opportunity to learn from Mr. Leutze's unconventional writing and publishing journey.
The Morganton Writers' Group and the Burke Writers' League enjoyed an informative and engaging workshop given by nationally known author and former WBTV anchor Bob Inman following the Burke County Public Library's Author's Luncheon on March 20, 2014. My favorite quote from Bob that day: "A good plot is about people bumping into each other and creating sparks."
The Morganton Writers' Group shared their books, short stories, articles, and other information at the second annual Art Exposition at the Morganton Public Library on March 8, 2014. The story above called "Pictures at an Exposition" recalls the experiences of that day, and was published in The News Herald on April 13, 2014.
Great writing is capturing a moment in time, distilling its essence, and adding a drop of eternity.