What are your graduation years?
BHS 2001; Ohio University 2004; Kent State, MA in Literature and Writing, 2009. Now I'm in my first year as a Rhetoric and Composition PhD student in the Literacy, Rhetoric, and Social Practice program at Kent State. I take classes and teach freshman writing.
Let's start at the beginning. Who did you sit beside in the first grade?
Leslie Wise.
What was your favorite thing about about grade school?
Probably art class with Mrs. Reineke.
How about middle school?
Going to the high school, choosing where you sit for lunch and having a locker.
When you think of high school what comes to your mind?
Awkwardness, but I had a good time.
Who is the most famous person you ever met?
I was five feet from Harrison Ford taking his photo at the EAA Show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2004. I was shooting for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time.
What was he like?
He did not like speaking in public. He seemed kind of shy. I remember that he had bleached blond hair.
What car did you take your driver's test in?
The same car I've driving right now. A 1997 Dodge Caravan.
And what do your college friends think of it?
They think it's hilarious. They call it a "mom van."
How did you get from photojournalism at Ohio University to rhetoric at Kent State?
I got burnt out in photography. I took some classes at Bluffton University in English. Decided I didn't want to teach in high school. So, I applied and got into Kent State. I started out in the literary theory track. Needless to say, it did not offer a very productive future. I also found that rhetoric and communication had more in common with my visual communication background and was more interesting.
How many books did you read in the fall semester?
(long pause) At least two or three a week.
What's an example of one?
Are you ready for this? Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research.
This is a book?
It's about 100 pages and it took the class about three weeks to get through most of it, worksheets and all. It was written in 1963 for educational researchers. Not light reading.
What's the future of rhetoric?
Well, it's the second oldest profession next to prostitution. It's useful for writing and for any type of literate communication activities with the goal of gaining the adherence of minds. (laughing) I'm quoting someone. Classical rhetoric's goal is discovering and using the available means of persuasion.
What do you do for fun?
Eric Stutzman and I have two dogs. We take long walks and try to keep the dogs from destroying our apartment.
What television programs do you watch?
Lately on the Internet I've watched Stargate Universe and The Office. I'm anxiously awaiting the last season of Lost.
How is it going to end?
I had a few theories at the end of last season, but I've yet to figure out the smoke monster and the statue.
Do you think that will all be revealed?
They better reveal it or there are going to be a lot of angry people out there.
What Internet sites do you check regularly?
Twitter, New York magazine, Bluffton Icon. Huffington Post, The Onion and for international news the New York Times. Most of my online time is spent on academic and technology blogs, my email, and course management site for class.
How would you describe yourself politically?
Annoyed. I wanted a single-payer health care system and it has become a big pharma bailout.
How about Afghanistan?
It's a mess like most of the world today.
Where would you like to be 10 years from now?
Applying for tenure, enjoying my job and looking forward to not ever having to put plastic on my windows again in the winter.
Do you ever see anyone from Bluffton?
I saw Luke Parthemore in the Wooster Wal-mart a couple weeks ago. His wife teaches at the College of Wooster.
What the similarities of Kent to Bluffton?
The number of squirrels. Kent is also trying to revamp its downtown. And there are the usual town and gown issues.
