EDUCATION
Franklin Heights High School May 2013
Columbus, Ohio
Centenary University May 2018
Bachelor of Arts in English, concentration in Creative Writing
Minor in Professional Writing
Hackettstown, NJ, USA
MAJOR AWARDS
Eugene A. Noble Award for Leadership & Enthusiasm 2018
Summer Culture & Language Program Certificate of Appreciation 2017
Harry Strickhausen Endowed Memorial Scholarship 2017
Residence Assistant Leadership Award 2017-2018
ACCADEMIA
Medieval and Early Modern Studies Conference Panelist 2016
Representing the Other Panel: “The White Lens: Othello’s Big Black Problem”
Centenary College’s Academic Symposium Panelist 2016
Creative Writing Workshop
Centenary University’s 2nd Annual Academic Symposium Panelist 2017
#theVIBE: “VIBEVOICES”
Creative Writing: “Social Issue in Fantasy: Excerpts from “Ebony Antebellum”
National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing Speaker 2017
Advocating Across Campus: Identity Driven Writing Center Collaborations: “E.O.P(-P), Yeah, You Know Me: Nurturing Multiple Vernaculars and Students of Need in Our Centers”
Centenary University’s 3rd Annual Academic Symposium Panelist 2018
Creative Writing: “Toni Morrison – Manifestations of Black Rage through Speculative Fiction”
TEACHING
Summer Culture & Language Program R.A. 2017
Coordinated by Mr. Marvin Walker, International Admissions and Immigration Assistant. The Summer Culture & Language Program is dedicated to educating and exposing international applicants to American language and culture through a highly-immersive program of summer scholarship. Students come for six weeks of travel and classes, supervised by Residential Assistants. Residential Assistants aid students by educating secondary speakers in the language and way of life, serving as live-in educators, supervisors and experts. Every day, Assistants are expected to coordinate educational exercises to better oral English syntax and grammar. Recipient of the SCLP Certificate of Appreciation.
Writing Collaboratory Tutor, Centenary University 2016-2018
Coordinated by Dr. Erin Andersen, the Writing Collaboratory is the on-campus writing center for Centenary University. Within the Writing Center, we assist and educate students on the practicalities of rhetorical analysis, sentence composition, thesis development, logical support, introductions and conclusions, grammar, spelling and brainstorming. Often, tutors are expected to host and facilitate workshops and contribute to conferences to stay up-to-date on writing pedagogy. The entire center is overseen by English Department Head, Dr. Sharon Decker.
Writing Collaboratory Intern, Centenary College 2015
Coordinated by Dr. Richard Severe, the Writing Collaboratory was the on-campus writing center for Centenary College. As an intern, I was expected to substitute for writing consultations, shadow tutors and assist on a need-basis in many developments throughout the center and staff, to learn on-the-job strategies and techniques for peer tutoring. The entire center was overseen by English Department Head, Dr. Sharon Decker.
INTERNSHIP
Non-Fiction/Journalism
Editor-in-Chief #theVIBE 2015-2018
Coordinated by Tim Guella, #theVibe is the social media center at Centenary University. The Social Media Manager and Blogger was expected to supervise the office and communications, run tours on-call and oversee late-night meetings between the Business Administration Department’s approved student list on #theVibe’s premises. Responsibilities also included running live broadcast of campus events, including the Spring Fashion Show, Earth Day, and other notorious events. Footage was expected to be compiled and backed up.
Culture Writing Intern, Comicsverse 2016
Founded by Justin Alba, Comicsverse provides comic book journalism in its many forms. The Culture Writing Intern was responsible for weekly pitches of content, biweekly meetings via Google Hangouts and managing SEO analytics for reach. Interns managed a three-step editing process with the editing staff before publication a week later. I was approved for a weekly series entitled “Successful Symbols,” where I analyzed the iconography of notable superhero weapons/icons.
Culture Writing Intern, Le Reine Noire 2017
Founded by Aissata Diallou, Le Reine Noire is a hip hop feminism publication for women looking to inspire and empower themselves and others. Hip-hop feminism is a way of thinking/living that is rooted in different life experiences than either the traditional feminism of the Women’s Liberation Movement or the black feminism of the Civil Rights Movement. Tasks included pitching, publishing, scheduling, SEO strategy, editing and research.
PROFESSIONAL
Senior Editor of Creative Writing, Epicurean Commune, LLC. 2017-PRESENT
A Digital and Print Arts magazine located in Newark, NJ. Responsibilities include reviewing, curating and editing editorial and creative writing submissions for Prose and Poetry. Set to a monthly release, the magazine also interviews artist across the U.S. and international markets.
Editor-in-Chief, VIBE Voices 2017-2018
Vibe Voices is not the first distributor of digital media, but it is the first one with this kind of beat. An affiliate of the #VIBETRIBE at Centenary University and #theVIBE, Vibe Voices was created to give students a platform of free expression and professional development because theory is useless without a place of application.
Residential Assistant, Centenary University 2016-2018
Resident Assistants are responsible for the supervision of students living in a university campus. These undergraduates also help students adjust more easily to the academic community. Essential duties of a Resident Assistant include: interacting with residents, solving issues raised by students, referring students to resources, contacting emergency services during crisis, allocating monthly budgets, organizing events and activities, promoting a safe and supportive environment, inspecting rooms, asking for maintenance and repair services, and ensuring holiday coverage.
English Department Office Assistant 2014
At the service of both the Department and the Department Head, Dr. Sharon Decker, the English Department Office Assistant performs distinct administrative tasks including advertisement, social media management, clerical work and develops a biannual newsletter for Centenary University English Alumni.
WORKS
Fiction
Manuscripts
“Ebony Antebellum” – 150,000 words
A Black teen in the tomorrow of the America way experiences the social, economic and racial ramifications of magic while his family and friends are slowly erased by law enforcement.
Short Story
“Hotel Mambo”
On the bayous of the south is a Hotel that drifts through the minds of all the locals, the Hotel Mambo, where the many strange things traumatize all who trespass. In search of their inherited “property”, a young woman and her father travel through the South, hunting something they fail to grasp does not owe them anything, but recompense.
“Voodoo, My Kingdom”
Three friends — Carver, Esther and Sarah — navigate the patriarchal expectations of their society, the Men-At-Charge, while their expectation point them towards frustration, the allure of freedom lures them to the one place they’re told good children never stray: the black-owned neighborhood of Negro Knocks.
“Mount the Melancholy”
In Ohio, a man intent on killing himself following a life of failures he cannot remember or give name recalls his travel with a driver whose kindness gives him ponder on his decision and the futility of Death.
Flash Fiction
“Mona Lisa’s Smile”
A diminished and supposedly ugly Black woman escapes the limits of her perception by following her dreams of becoming the Mona Lisa.
Non-Fiction
Essays
“I Should’ve Talked Black” Banango Street 2016
“NYC: Where Rich White Kids Play Poverty,” Medium 2018
Open Editorials/Reviews
2018
Blavity
“Why The Bonds Between Straight Men Can Sometimes Sabotage Their Romantic Relationships”
“Why America Only Values Black Artists When They Die”
Medium
“Being Black and an emerging writer resisting Trump’s America presents interesting challenges.”
2017
VIBE Voices
“5 Themes STRANGER THINGS and Stephen King Share”
“Centenary University’s 2017 Annual Spring Fashion Show”
“10 Stylish Ensembles We Want from Centenary University’s 2017 Annual Spring Fashion Show”
“Mulan Szchuan Sauce and Other Retro Things”
Kendrick Lamar Addresses the Kingdom of Rap in New Music Video, “HUMBLE”
Four Reasons Why Digital Media Needs Creative Writers
Epicurean Commune, LLC.
Steven Underwood, 2017
Alex Caplinger, 2017
Anaya Money, 2017
Le Reine Noire
The Trouble with the Come-Up
Blitter: Black Folk’s Digital Migration
No, We Can’t Just Pay Attention to Their Music
Sounds of Support: Activism in Music
THE READ: Accountability and Music Critique
Urban Fashion RETROgrade
Fishbowl Bohemia in the Hip Hop Industry
Actually, Even Beyonce’s Art is Honest
The Wackness of Marvel’s Luke Cage
2016
Comicsverse
“Afrofuturism and the Phenomenon of the Black Panther”
“Successful Symbols: Captain America”
“Successful Symbols: Wonder Woman”
“Successful Symbols: Batman”
“Successful Symbols: Superman”
“Successful Symbols: Iron Man”
“Successful Symbols: Thor’s Mighty Mjolnir”
“A Woman’s Strength: Magic in BUFFY, HARRY POTTER and Marla Mason”
“Whitewashing vs. Racebending: a Doctor Strange Case”
“Religion of GAME OF THRONES”
“The Soul-Shattering Pessimism of THE MAGICIANS”
“SALEM’s Lot: The Blight of Oppression”
“Respect My Authoritay: Requiem of Eric Cartman”
“You Know What We Don’t Need? Another White Savior”
“Power Rangers: The Relevance of Nostalgia”
“Fans Don’t Cry: Where’s The Album Frank Ocean?”
“Black Girl Tragic: Misogynoir on the CW”
2015
The Artifice
“Why the World Needs the Power Rangers: Twenty Years a Voyage”,
