The non-traditional academic route has allowed me to have a stable and fulfilling life outside of work, and to pursue a unique path in the field of education.

I’d been completely focused on faculty positions, but I was strongly drawn to the idea of running a writing center for graduate students, especially when it seemed to me that my own continued research activity could be seen as an essential part of the work.

No part of this academic journey has been linear, directed, or predictable. I have meandered my way to find a career that allows me to gather and tell stories in print and in the classroom. Even as it’s taken me to locales far and near, my aim is simple: to...