“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility.

bell hooks (1994)

I am a PhD student in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology at Auburn University. My scholarship uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the complexities of adult education. In particular, I focus on understanding three concepts relevant to theory and practice in adult education: effectiveness, engagement, and equity. The first concept, effectiveness, involves understanding how targeted learning outcomes are reached with adults. The second concept, engagement, involves understanding how adults are motivated to play an active and agentic role in learning. The third concept, equity, involves understanding how learning situations for adults are designed with the identities and the needs of learners at the center. Together, these concepts frame my research agenda in such a way that enables meaningful and robust inquiry on adult education. Other areas of inquiry are social justice, international students, civic education, and lifelong learning. I also contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning in partnership with faculty across institutions and disciplines.

I currently work in the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Auburn University as a research assistant who specializes in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

I am a first-generation student from a working-class family in Appalachia.

About Me

  • Interconnections of Learning, Social Class, and Parenting in a Community College

    The purpose of this study is to center the voices of parenting students at a community college. In particular, it explores the interconnections of learning, social class, and parenting using social role theory. It draws on secondary data from an institutional survey to understand how parenting students navigate living and learning in multiple––often conflicting––roles and to offer recommendations for ensuring that they have unemcumbered experiences.

  • Visual Representations of Equity and Justice in a Social Foundations of Education Course

    The purpose of this study is to examine how students enrolled in a social foundations of education course represent equity and justice using photo narration. It draws on artifacts––both visual and written––from four sections of the course across two semesters. The photos capture moments, situations, or objects exemplifying the ways in which students’ practice has been informed by concepts from the course.

  • Lived Experiences of Resilience Among Asian International Students During COVID-19

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the lived experiences of resilience among Asian international students at a research university in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. It used interpretative phenomenological analysis to make sense of how the participants make sense of their lived experiences. It calls on institutions to develop environments that enable all students to flourish despite adversity.

  • Attitudinal Outcomes of Service Learning Among Pre-Service Teachers

    The purpose of this study is to understand the attitudinal outcomes of service learning among pre-service teachers in a social foundations of education course. It aims to interrogate the ways in which service learning transforms––or reinforces––conceptions about marginalized communities. For the data, it uses reflective writing based on prompts from two points in the semester.

Contact Me

Thanks for visiting my website. Reach out to me if you are interested in learning more about my work. I welcome inquiries about potential collaborations and possible consultations within my areas of expertise.