Summary
I research transgender individuals in medieval literature and history. I explore how transgender bodies are imagined in literature and how gender intersects with race and sexual violence.
Education
Ph.D Student, English, University of Iowa, In progress
Thesis: Transmasculine Narratives in Medieval Literature
Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Wilcox
M.A., English, University of Iowa, 2023
Comps: Queer theory, monster theory, medieval literature
Certificate in College Teaching, University of Iowa, 2025
Graduate Certificate in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa, 2024
B.A., Historical Fiction Writing, Ohio State University, 2015
Minor: Creative Writing
Employment
Graduate Instructor, University of Iowa, 2021-Present
English Program Associate, University of Iowa, 2025
Writing Tutor, University of Iowa, 2022-2026
Rhetoric Co-Leader, University of Iowa, 2022
Editor, Freelance, 2019-Present
Teacher, English First, 2019-2021
Advanced Tutor, Tutor.com, 2019-2020
Teaching
ENGL 1200: Interpretation of Literature: Gender
ENGL 1200: Interpretation of Literature: Medieval Monsters
ENGL 1200: Interpretation of Literature: Medieval Fantasies
ENGL 1200: Interpretation of Literature: Adaptations
RHET 1030: Rhetoric
ENGL 2010: Foundations of the English Major (TA)
ENGL 2030: Literary Reading Attendance (TA)
Publications
“Beowulf and the Far Right.” Arthuriana, So What? ed. Arielle McKee, no. 2, June 2025.
“My Journey in Alternative Grading: From Curiosity to Clarity.” Faculty Focus, ed. Matt Nieman, June 2025.
“Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today,” The Conversation, ed. Kalpana Jain, May 2025.
“Trans people affirmed their gender without medical help in medieval Europe – history shows how identity transcends medicine and law.” The Conversation, ed. Vivian Lam, Feb 2025.
“Born this Way.” Tell Magazine, ed. Aimen Hameed, Andrés Restrepo Sanchez, Brittany Bahl, and Jordan Ismaiel, University of Iowa, Oct. 2023.
“Failure.” Rhetoric Notes, ed. Jennifer Janecheck, University of Iowa, no. 6, Dec. 2021.
Certificates
Building University of Iowa Leadership for Diversity (BUILD), University of Iowa, 2024
LGBTQ+ Safe Zone, University of Iowa, 2024
Engaging Across Cultures Professional Development Certificate, University of Iowa, 2023
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), Scholar Level, University of Iowa, 2021
Teaching English in a Foreign Language (TEFL), The Language House with the International TEFL Academy, Prague, Czech Republic, 2019
Awards
Valerie Lagorio Scholar, University of Iowa, 2025-26
Graduate College Summer Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2025
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, University of Iowa, 2024
Graduate College Summer Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2024
Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2024
Edwin Ford Piper Memorial Scholarship, University of Iowa, 2024-2025
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2023-2024
Doug Trank Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, University of Iowa, 2023
Provost Scholarship, Ohio State University, 2011-2015
Service
President: Textbook Committee, University of Iowa, 2024-Present
Judge: Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Iowa, 2025
Judge: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, University of Iowa, 2023
Associate Editor: Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, University of Iowa, 2022
Treasurer: Craft, Critique, Culture Conference, University of Iowa, 2023-2024
President: Craft, Critique, Culture Conference, University of Iowa, 2022-2023
Speaking Engagements
Alternative Assessment on ICON
Center for Teaching, University of Iowa, 2025
Graduate Student Experiences with Equitable Grading
Center for Teaching, University of Iowa, 2024
Emerald Colored Glasses: An Environmental Vision for Craft, Critique, and Culture
Colloquium, University of Iowa, 2023
Queer Failure and Making Something Useless
Gender, Sexuality, and Literature: Searching for Queer Stories
University of Iowa, 2022