Fun Facts

I'm from Alaska, I've taught at universities all over the world, and I've released more than 30 documentary films from 43 countries on five continents. I once rode my bicycle through 12 countries to finish an undergraduate thesis capstone project to bridge my journalism and environmental science degrees. At one point I spoke fluent French, Bahasa and Thai, but I never spoke them after I moved out of country, so I lost them. I still speak relatively fluent Spanish.

About Me

My official title is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, but that translates to teaching all kinds of subjects. I've taught design, filmmaking, multimedia production, photography, editing, writing, podcasting, book and magazine publishing, and lots more. I owned my first camera before I could walk, because my dad raised me while working as a photojournalist in the Navy. So, you could say I'm a lifelong journalist myself.

Experience

My first two internships while finishing my journalism degree were in Costa Rica (Tico Times), and Taiwan (Taipei Times). I've since worked at five newspapers in the Louisville, Southern Indiana area, Anchorage, Alaska, the Bangkok Post in Thailand and even released my own magazine focused on history, culture and cuisine. I've not only won many awards in photography and photojournalism, I've been the judge giving out awards as an honorary member of the Falls of the Ohio Archaeological Society.

Approach

Believe it or not, I have a very challenging learning disability. As a child growing up with A.D.D., focusing on school was very difficult. I found that the classes I was interested in, I excelled at. The common factor to my success was diversity in instruction. So, that is what I employ in my classes. I teach for spatial learners, visual learners, I use audio and video aids, I get students out of the classroom and into the real world where their projects will eventually be.