Career Roadmap
michelle's work combines: Education, Writing, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
William Jennings Bryan High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
California State University-Sacramento
Graduate Degree
Creative Writing
California State University-Sacramento
Certification
Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations
Travel Careers Institute
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an English Language & Literature Teachers, Postsecondary:
Bachelor's Degree: English Language and Literature, General
Graduate Degree: Creative Writing
Certification: Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Scholarship to attend University of Nebraska at Omaha as an education major.
2.
Money ran out, Didn't qualify for financial aid, parents said it's time to move out.
3.
Got married.
4.
Had a child.
5.
Got a divorce.
6.
Went back to school--waitressed, bartended, moved out on my own. Discovered a love of learning.
7.
Graduated nine years later with a MA in Creative Writing--the first in my family!
8.
Continued waitressing and bartending while teaching as an adjunct professor at five campuses; five years later my first full time interview for a tenure-track English professor opened. I got it! Woo!
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
"How are you ever going to make a decent living with a degree in poetry?"
How I responded:
Though parents are pivotal people in our lives, I also had incredible mentor/teachers who believed in me and encouraged me when I wanted to quit. I also had other supports outside of the education arena who saw me and the magic light in my eyes when I was learning and writing, they saw me through.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was a single parent who worked full time and went to school full time; I was too proud to believe I should ask for financial aid. That changed when I lost my job and had to apply for welfare. It was humiliating but a valuable and humbling exp.