I grew up in a quaint Mediterranean town called Izola (Slovenia) on the border with Italy and Croatia. A rich history of migrations and wars in that part of the world has created a patchwork of small countries and provinces, each with its own mixture of Slavic, Germanic, and Romance languages. For most of my life, I spoke Slovenian, so I consider it my native language. I also learned Italian and Croatian at an early age, but the moment I was introduced to English in fifth grade, I knew this was "my language," and I knew I wanted to be an English teacher. Life, however, had other plans for me. Instead of becoming an English teacher, I graduated with a BS in Transportation Technologies and worked in the IT field as a Business Systems Analyst for eleven years. 

Throughout those years, my desire to study and teach English persisted, so I took a leap of faith, crossed the ocean, and took the steps to fulfill that dream. I earned an MA in Applied Linguistics from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA), followed by a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Texas at El Paso. I have been teaching rhetoric & writing to first-year college students since 2011. Currently, I am an associate professor in the English Department at Virginia Peninsula Community College.

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Rhetoric has a variety of definitions, ranging from being the art of persuasion to being the study of human symbols. All these definitions can be valid and can overlap, but my favorite use of rhetoric is to study how to communicate effectively, especially for epistemic purposes (that is, to create knowledge). My research focuses on the rhetorical aspects of grammatical issues in college composition.

I live in Hampton, VA, with my wife Gail, who is a real-estate investor. In my spare time, I deliver Meals on Wheels, participate in real estate education for low-income and first-time buyers, and engage in LGBTQ activism. I love to travel and am also a tri-athlete--I try to ride my bike, play tennis, and swim as much as I can, though never enough