What is your title with TCC?

I am an Associate Professor of English.

How long have you worked at TCC?

I have worked at TCC full-time for 14 years. If you include my time as an adjunct, that goes up to 16 years.

What is your degree (s)?

I have a bachelor’s degree in English and two master’s degrees, which are a Master of Arts from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Fine Arts (fiction) from Wichita State University.

What classes do you teach at TCC? 

I teach Composition I and II, Intro to Creative Writing, Short Story Workshop, Intro to Literature, Literature and Film, and Honors classes, such as Comp II and Intro to Creative Writing.

Which effective methods do you use in your teaching that help students learn successfully?

I use learning-to-learn methods and strategies. Essentially, I have students engage (hands-on) with the subjects and materials we study in class. I barely lecture. Instead, we often break into groups to work on study guides and literature or share rough drafts in peer-review workshops, for example.

You state on your Facebook page that you are “Father. Professor. Writer. Traveler. Ireland tour guide. Blues singer. Bills fan.” Can you give us more details on some of the “categories”?  

Father: I am the proud father to three sons. One is still in college. Professor: That’s my job and I love it. Writer: I write fiction, poetry, and songs. Traveler: I travel often and truly enjoy experiencing new cultures. Ireland Tour Guide: This needs to be changed. I no longer do this, but at one point, I gave tours of Ireland. Blues singer: I play and sing for a band called “Your Drunken Uncle.” Bills fan: Go Bills!

You are an active member of the storytellers’ club “OK, So Tulsa.” Tell us more about the club, and how students can benefit from participating in it.

“OK, So” is Tulsa’s premiere story slam organization. They model their performances like “The Moth Radio Hour” in NYC and on NPR. Story slams are competitive storytelling that must be true and told within a certain timeframe. Students can take the workshops and tell their own stories. Storytelling is healing. Storytelling is a celebration. It is a sharing of being human in this world.

I am an active board member of “OK, So Story Slam of Tulsa.” I have been performing stories for a little over ten years. I help run storytelling workshops at TCC’s Center for Creativity and other spaces. In 2017, I won the “OK, So Grand Slam,” which made me Tulsa’s best storyteller for that year. I also won “The Moth Radio Hour Slam” in 2022 when they visited Tulsa. Lastly, on September 13th, 2024, “OK, So” will be hosting the “Grand Grand Slam”: celebrating 10 years of storytelling in Tulsa. Ten story slam winners from the last ten years will compete at Cain’s Ballroom. It’s gonna be fire!