How long have you been a professor?

It's complicated! I started teaching in 2004, when I was a reporter for The Associated Press living in Athens where my husband, Andy, was sports editor of The Athens Banner-Herald. I commuted to the Atlanta AP office on the weekends to be day supervisor/editor and worked from home during weekdays, generally, unless breaking news pulled me to another city. I was invited to teach a class or two a semester so that student could learn from someone practicing journalism day in, day out.

My colleagues included former professors and mentors Conrad Fink and Barry Hollander, as well as faculty who had joined the department since I was a undegraduate student and provided a constant source of support and ideas.

I taught part-time for 15 years, and in the meantime, I left the AP, started Fast Copy News Service, a freelance writing agency, and earned my MFA in narrative nonfiction. A full-time lecturer position came upon in 2019, and I applied, went through the interviewing process and got the job. I started in fall 2019 and have loved this next step in my professional career.