Students

Muhammad came all the way from Saudi Arabia with his wife, Alaa, and their two-year old boy, Thamer. Muhammad earned his undergraduate degree in English Language in Saudi Arabia from Taif University. He holds a Masters degree in TESOL from The New School, New York City. He is also an English language lecturer and teacher trainer at Taif University. While teaching for a few years in Saudi Arabia, Muhammad developed a keen interest in the field of Rhetoric and Composition studies. For him, choosing Bowling Green State University is a great opportunity to enhance his knowledge in the field. In his free time, Muhammad likes spending time with his family, traveling and watching scientific and action movies.

[a picture of Charity Anderson, a smiling woman with long dark hair who is also wearing blue-light-blocking prescription glasses to avoid a migraine]

Charity Anderson holds two undergraduate degrees from Northwest State (Applied Science in Biology and Art) and two degrees from Lourdes University (English and Adolescent to Young Adult Education) where she was also her class's graduation commencement speech deliverer for an audience of 5,000 people. She has an MA in English: Language and Literature from the University of Toledo where she also served as a co-editor for the university's literature magazine, The Mill. She also holds a highly qualified teaching license for language arts in Ohio which she has used to teach preK-12th grade and college courses for a respectable amount of time. From these teaching experiences, she was moved to start her own school, PASS for God's Children, during the shutdown of 2020. She is now serving as a Ph.D. Research Assistant and a Co-editor for Mid-American Review. Charity was also notably the Presidential Diversity Scholarship recipient at BGSU for the 2019-2020 school year.

Charity is a member of the disabled community and she is also the mother of three small children. These parts of her identity contribute to her most recent research: how the shutdowns created more accessibility barriers for members of the disabled community as well as other explorations into marginalized voices.

Clay Chiarelott is currently a third-year PhD student in the Rhetoric and Writing program at BGSU and a graduate teaching associate in the University Writing Program (UWP). Prior to coming to BGSU, he was the Writing Center Coordinator at the University of Toledo for two years and the Writing Center Coordinator at Mercy College of Ohio for nine, but his first experience with writing tutoring was at BGSU's writing center during his master's degree. He loves talking about writing to anyone who is interested, whether classrooms full of students or in one-on-one tutoring and conferencing sessions. When not geeking out over writing, Clay enjoys watching comedies of all types—stand-up comedy, sitcoms, comedic films, and more—and also considers himself a trivia buff who dreams of one day appearing on Jeopardy (although trivia night with friends is pretty awesome too, at least when there's not a pandemic to worry about).  

Annie Cigic graduated with her BA in Law and Social Thought with a minor in Writing in 2015 from The University of Toledo. After a year off, she came to BGSU and completed her MFA in Creative Writing, specializing in Poetry, in 2019. Her poetry has appeared in Driftwood Press, Into the Void, Gordon Square Review, and elsewhere. Her research interests include advocacy writing, community-based learning, student agency in writing assessment, and subcultures of motherhood. Beyond teaching and writing, she has found an interest in painting, drawing, embroidery, mixed media, gardening, video games, baking and cooking, and makeup.

Rachel is originally from Spokane, Washington. She has a BA in English from Whitworth University and an MA in English from Eastern Washington University. She spent 4 years teaching composition and working with tutors at Heritage University before moving to Ohio with her family. Rachel's primary research areas of interest are in Basic Writing, Writing Transfer, and Writing Center Theory. She spends any free time with her husband and two toddlers. She especially enjoys taking her boys to play spaces such as the children's museums and zoos throughout Ohio.

Charity Givens has spent the past four years as part of the faculty at a private university in Lithuania where she taught first-year writing courses, expository writing, and a course on cultural theory and food. While in Lithuania, she also led teacher training workshops for local high school teachers using photo essays as means of building language and writing skills.  She has taught in high schools and tech schools prior to her international move. Her research interests include writing transfer, writing pedagogy, writing program administration, and second-language writing.

Megan Green is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Bowling Green State University Firelands’ Pathway Program, where she teaches literature and writing. She is also a doctoral student in BGSU’s Rhetoric and Writing Program. You can frequently find her sipping coffee, daydreaming about stories, or conversing with her Patronus, Baby Yoda.

Kari Hanlin hails from a small town in West Virginia. She received her BA in English with a psychology minor from Waynesburg University and her MFA in fiction from BGSU. After a year of adjuncting at BGSU, she knew she wanted to continue her academic and research endeavors here. When she’s not chugging coffee in East Hall or at Grounds for Thought, you’ll find her reading and writing stories of all kinds, hanging out with her rescue dogs, Nettie and (Peter) Parker, and picking up yet another crafting hobby. 

Her research interests focus heavily on feminist rhetoric and revolution in Appalachia, but she also is interested in writing center pedagogy and integrating popular culture into first year composition classrooms.

Travis Hein is from Terre Haute, Indiana. He holds a BS in Journalism, a BS in English, and a MA in English with a focus in Literature from Indiana State University. Prior to moving to Bowling Green, he worked as a lecturer at Indiana State University and as adjunct faculty at Ivy Tech Community College. When not in his office or the library studying and grading assignments, he likes to read, exercise, and watch movies.

Bio coming soon!

Sherrel McLafferty is a forever falcon. She received her BFA in Creative Writing and her MFA in Poetry from BGSU. This unique experience means she has been a student of the very classes she has the pleasure of teaching. She loves the small town feel of Bowling Green and has made a home for herself, her husband, her cat, and dog. Outside of academics, Sherrel is an active literary citizen. He poetry has been published with Merrimack Review, Requited Journal, ArLiJo, and Notre Dame Review. She is also an editor for Pidgeonholes, Linden Avenue Literary Journal, and Split Lip Magazine.

Laura Menard is a native of Toledo, Ohio. She received her B.A. in Psychology from BGSU and went on to earn a J.D. from The University of Toledo. After practicing bankruptcy law for a decade in Detroit, Michigan, she went back to school and earned her M.A. in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She taught English composition courses for 3 years before she found her way back to BGSU. She is married and a mother to 2 amazing daughters. She loves all things sci-fi, playing video games, spending time with her family, and can usually be seen with a coffee in her hand. Her research interests include feminist rhetoric in video games and media rhetoric in true crime.  

Spencer Myers is a Ph.D. candidate in the rhetoric and writing program at Bowling Green State University and is a graduate teaching assistant in the University Writing Program (UWP). Spencer was born and raised in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's in English literature from Lock Haven University. After working in journalism for three years, Spencer moved to Erie, PA, where he worked as a teaching assistant at a Montessori school while getting his master’s in English at Gannon University. As an academic, Spencer is interested in game studies, human ecology, spatial rhetoric, and embodiment. He will talk about the writer Henri Lefebvre or the game Yume Nikki to anyone who is interested. He enjoys walking around and trying to guess at the age of buildings.

Bio coming soon!

Timothy J. “TJ” Pyatt, originally from DeSoto, MO, is a Graduate Teaching Associate in the University Writing Program. Prior to coming to BGSU, Timothy received his BA in Literature and his BS in Theatre from Missouri State University. During his undergraduate he focused on dramaturgy and performance studies. He recently graduated with his MA Writing- Composition and Rhetoric from Missouri State University. While studying for his master’s, he taught as a graduate assistant at Missouri State University teaching traditional composition courses and basic writing courses. Timothy is now a PhD student studying Rhetoric and Writing Studies. 

His research interests include basic writing theory, literacy, writing center theory, and creative non-fiction. When he’s not teaching, he can be found reading memoir essay collections, trying new recipes, and working on some of his personal writing projects.

Haley Stammen (she/her) is a PhD Student in Rhetoric and Writing Studies and Graduate Teaching Associate for the University Writing Program. Stammen is also the Tutoring Coordinator at University of Dayton. She graduated with distinction from Northern Arizona University with an MA in English: Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies and Professional Writing. She has published work in Eastern Oregon Social Science Journal and Journal of Basic Writing. Her research interests include basic writing, writing center theory & practice, and school shootings. In her free time, Haley loves long hikes, traveling (especially to Oregon and Arizona!), reading fiction, and checking out local eateries! 

Kylie Stocker is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Bowling Green State University in the rhetoric and writing studies program and teaches rhetoric, research, and writing courses at Tiffin University as an Assistant Professor of English. She is spending her dissertation exploring the writing classroom experiences of Black women who are the first in their families to go to college and is projected to defend her dissertation in the spring semester of 2023. Her research interests include first-generation college students, feminism and gender studies, and first-year writing studies. Professor Stocker serves as the founder and advisor for First-Generation Dragons, the on-campus student organization at Tiffin University for first-generation college students, and she is also a member of the National Council of Teachers of English. Professor Stocker was also selected as a panelist speaker in 2021 and 2022 for the National Conference on College Composition and Communication, the flagship conference in her field. In her free time outside of academia, Kylie enjoys traveling with her family and boyfriend and walking her mom's rescue dog, Harrison.

Olivia holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in English with a specialization in Literary and Textual Studies, both from BGSU. After receiving her M.A., Olivia dove into the corporate world, working as a Correspondence Specialist at JP Morgan Chase & Co. After over a year in corporate, Olivia left to pursue her passions and has since worked as the Writing Center Coordinator at The University of Toledo. In addition to Writing Center work, Olivia’s research interests include intersectional feminism and anxiety within the supernatural and horror genres.