I am Croatian by ethnicity, Serbian by birth, Slovenian by upbringing, and American by choice: four cultures and four languages meshed in one person. To add spice to this mixture, I am hard-of-hearing and gay. For a long time, I was not aware that my multicultural and multilingual background was an asset. Instead, I often felt like an outsider struggling with doubts of not belonging. Today I know that this mixture makes me richer, more flexible, and easily adaptable. I know this because of every person who welcomed my diversity and showed me how it enriched their life. That is the person I want to be for my students.

 

A common theme that permeates all diversities is fear. My own fears of being excluded from my communities due to the perceived otherness have shaped me into a person who is committed to making others feel included. My own fears help me recognize and understand students who hold back from speaking in their own language(s), who avoid disclosing their disabilities, or who dread coming out—literally or figuratively. By sharing my own fears, I encourage my students to share theirs and to feel safe in doing so.

 

Such a spirit of inclusion is also present in my overall teaching approaches that I have developed through extensive experience teaching developmental and first-year writing. I have taught in online, hybrid, and face-to-face modes, while my classes included students with various linguistic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, as well as adult learners and at-risk students. To appeal to such diverse populations, my course materials include themes that tackle voter suppression, racist rhetoric, and working-class identity in the academia, to name a few. By including such topics, I hope to switch our narratives from being unintentionally racist to becoming intentionally anti-racist. Another example of inclusion are the recent revisions to my course materials to improve accessibility by adding closed captions and transcripts for my slideshows and videos, as well as by ensuring that my documents are screen-reader friendly. I continue developing my teaching approaches by applying principles of universal design, by incorporating gender-neutral language, and by constantly examining my own bias.

 

Additionally, my research in the past ten years has focused on non-traditional and linguistically diverse students, specifically on how teachers have been prepared to work with such diverse populations. For instance, I have researched the systemic tensions that guide writing teachers’ responding practices, and I investigated how teachers’ perceptions of marginalized post-secondary students might affect student performance and, consequently, student retention.

 

Finally, my service work has included serving as a faculty advisor for the Gender and Sexual Minorities Club at Thomas Nelson Community College and as a faculty member on the Student Engagement Committee at Virginia Commonwealth University, among others. Outside of work, my service includes real estate education for low-income buyers as a Virginia Housing Development Authority Qualified Trainer, advocating for suicide awareness through Out of the Darkness Community Walks, and delivering meals to seniors through Meals on Wheels.  

 

As an inclusive and anti-racist educator—and person—I  am committed to creating spaces that do not perpetuate systemic inequalities and where everyone’s diversity is valued and welcomed.