Student Spotlights

We love shining a spotlight on our students!

Are you a graduate student interested in being Spotlighted? Do you have an exciting success story to share? Let us know!

Kylie Stocker, 3rd year student in the Ph.D. Rhetoric and Writing Studies program

This photo was on the first day of school this year. Every year my mom still has me come to her house to get a first day of school photo on her porch. Her dog, Harrison, is always eager to join in his fancy bow tie :)

Please tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Kylie Stocker, and I am a third-year student in the PhD in Rhetoric and Writing Program here at BGSU! I am an Instructor of English at Tiffin University located in Tiffin, Ohio. In my free time, I love to travel and visit art museums!

What do you love most about teaching? What inspires you as an educator?

What I love most about teaching is meeting students from all over the world. There are some days where I definitely learn more from my students than they learn from me, but I think that is the beauty of teaching. Students always assume the instructor is the one doing all the teaching; however, in reality, students bring much different experiences than that of my own to the classroom. My students are my inspiration, and they keep me motivated to always assess, evaluate, and change how I teach every semester.

As you have continued to learn about teaching writing, what have you learned about yourself as a writer and your writing process?

I have learned that writing takes time and that is okay. It sounds silly, but as an undergraduate I would sit down and type my whole paper at once and edit immediately afterword. I now space out my writing. I will write for a couple hours each day until I get my draft done. Then, I will take 2-3 days to step away from my work before I edit. Good writing never happens when it is rushed.

Can you tell us a bit about your position at Tiffin University?

I teach primarily first-year writing and intro research courses at Tiffin University. I am actually going through the promotion process at the moment to move up in rank to Assistant Professor of English, and I designed my own course I am teaching this semester called Celebrating Black Women!

Share your accomplishments and goals with us!

In April 2021, I presented at CCCC for the first time! I presented on Pedagogical Practices to Utilize in the First-Year Writing Classrooms for First-Generation College students. I even started a student organization at Tiffin University for first-generation college students to receive resources and peer support, and I serve as the advisor for this group. I also designed a special topics course at Tiffin University called Celebrating Black Women. It is an intro research course where I use the topic to teach students how to conduct research. In the course, we are celebrating the accomplishments of present day Black female leaders, such as Beyonce, Michelle Obama, Maya Angelou, Stacey Abrams, and Oprah Winfrey!