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Lots of News & Updates to Share :-)
Hello, my friends. I hope you are all well. I know it’s been a while, and I apologize for that. I also apologize that my podcasts have stalled. They will be back, but the semester has gotten the better of me. Three more weeks, and we can close the books on the Spring 2022 semester! I know the students are happy. Because I’ve been absent for so long, I have a lot of cool news to share with you today! First, I was honored to receive the Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award at the Eastern Communication Association Annual Convention! It was such an honor to represent Stevenson University, and I was…
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Three Weeks Post Surgery & A New Travel Piece To Share
UPDATE Just keeping it real today. It’s been three weeks since my surgery, and while I am coming along, this has not been as easy a road for me as it may have been for others. I figured I’m not too proud to share my sassy sock fashion and cane on my blog along with an update. Having experienced back pain and SI-joint pain for years, it was time to try something to alleviate it. So, I had a full hip replacement because it had two tears in the labrum and was riddled with arthritis. I’ve taken time away from the university to heal, as was suggested by my doctor.…
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Talking teaching, life lessons, writing, and fashion on FamilyApp.com
It was an honor to be able to share my creativity on a platform called FamilyApp.com today! One of the things I love most about teaching at the college level is watching my students go out into the world and seeing where they land. One of my star students is with this organization, and she asked me to be featured on their platform! Talk about things coming full-circle in life. Connections. They are everything. Making connections with people, staying in touch, and keeping your pulse on what they are up to is important. That said, I’m flattered to be alongside many other creative moms and dads out there just trying…
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What Are You Missing Most Right Now?
Here’s the question: WHAT ARE YOU MISSING MOST RIGHT NOW? Most of us are probably missing the freedom we used to have to travel, being with those we love without social distancing, and seeing the world. Plus, as I am working on my syllabus for feature writing, I typically instruct and assign an article about travel writing. This morning I woke up realizing I may have to take this assignment out. How can I expect the students to travel and write about their local travel in these present circumstances? This semester is going to be unusual enough without now having to rethink assignments. I’m going to have to get creative.…
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The Loss of George
* This week, I learned much too late of the passing of my favorite professor and one of the best people I knew, George Friedman. He passed away in late February. Every once in a while someone comes along and makes an impression on your life. That person, for me, came in the form of Dr. George Friedman, professor of English at Towson University. George, as I came to call him, was the singular inspiration for my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, which began as a short story in George’s class—Writing Creative Short Fiction—during my first master’s degree. When he returned a short story I wrote, and verbally told…
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Advantages & Disadvantages of Working from Home
✨ADVANTAGES of WORKING FROM HOME✨ 1-you can go without jewelry and shoes and no one really cares2-you can work during the day or night at whatever time works for your schedule or short commute3-you can take potty breaks whenever you want4-you can multi-task without anyone really seeing you do it5-you can play music while you work and not bother anyone6-you can stretch your back on the floor after sitting for so long at the computer at your leisure7-your walk to the cafeteria (your kitchen) is much shorter8-you can squeeze in an exercise when it suits your agenda that day9-you can take quick breaks with your family and eat meals together10-you…
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Podcast 13 – Ideas to Help Foster Creativity During This Crisis
It’s difficult to feel happy during a crisis when there is so much heartbreak happening on the front lines of this coronavirus pandemic. I know I’m feeling a little depressed by the situation and can only watch bits of news each day in order to carry on with the things I have to accomplish for my students and university as I teach from home. We are all doing the best we can, and being home hasn’t been all awful, but I do feel as if my creativity has been zapped a little. Do you feel the same way? Today’s Podcast 13 offers ideas for those of us writers who need…
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What I’ve Learned So Far as a Professor During the Coronavirus Pandemic
I’m guessing this particular post is going to be an ongoing work in progress with additions made to it regularly. You see, we are all learning, students and faculty. The decision to move online took only a matter of days once we knew the severity of the coronavirus outbreak and what its potential could be for our community at Stevenson University. Within a three-day span, we learned we were closing and we instituted online practices for faculty. Our university moved swiftly, and there was a ton of support offered from many: from our president and administrators; from our technology folks; from our department chairs and deans; and from each other.…
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Interpersonal Communication Up Next
* This semester, I’ll be teaching two sections of Interpersonal Communication. I couldn’t be more pleased to reacquaint myself with this course, as I have not taught it in several years. This is such a wonderful foundational course in communication, and it is the basis on which relationships are built, caressed, fostered, and extended. The textbook for the course, The Interpersonal Communication Book, by Joseph A. DeVito, has offered new insights into the course whereby DeVito includes new information about how we communicate online (just as I am doing here). Online communication has become such a large part of our lives that it absolutely warrants attention. We have connections with…
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12 Tips for Being a Successful College Student
I’ve seen a lot since I taught my first class in 1993 at Anne Arundel Community College as an adjunct. As a professor at Stevenson University since 2000, and full-time since 2008, I can offer some tips to those of you who have children going off to college this year, those who are in college, and those who may be struggling in college for whatever reason. While this list is not foolproof and is certainly not complete (as I’m sure my colleagues could certainly add to it), the list merely serves as a guide for students who want to improve or are taking their first college course. Here is my…
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The Thing That Connects Us
*** I was sitting here staring at a blank cursor knowing what I wanted to write but not knowing exactly how to say it. Then I remembered studying writer James Baldwin during my first master’s degree, and thought of his quote: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who are alive, who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin I’ve been “officially” publishing fiction now since 2012. Fiction is the best outlet to tell…
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Thank You, Readers! I’m Flattered.
Today, I’m posting a quick THANK YOU to those of you wonderful readers who have purchased my book, attended my book launch last week, or tagged me in social media posts. It’s heartwarming to see so much interest in the book, and I’ve loved hearing from you and seeing the photos you’ve shared with your followers. I’m sharing some of the cool shots today with Steph’s Scribe readers! My newest book is available on Amazon.com and BN.com. Little Milestones, piggybacks onto my previous novel, Inn Significant, but can be read independently. However, if you loved Inn Significant, set in beautiful Oxford, Maryland, I hope you’ll enjoy Little Milestones, set in…
