About Me

I earned a BA in Literature from Francis Marion University (FMU) and an MFA in Creative Writing from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (SIUC), where I also taught Composition 101 and 102 as a TA (teaching assistant). After leaving graduate school, I earned my teaching credentials through South Carolina’s Program for Alternative Certification in Education (PACE). My first two years of public school teaching were at Hillcrest Middle School in Dalzell, SC, part of the Sumter School District. From there I moved to the Columbia area and took a job at Brookland-Cayce High School, where I worked for 15 years (from 2004 to 2019), teaching a wide range of courses: English I CP, English II CP, English III CP & Honors, English IV CP & Honors, English V Honors, English Humanities, Newspaper Production, SAT/ACT Preparation, Creative Writing, Advanced Writing, AP English Literature & Composition, and AP Seminar. 

I joined the English Department here at Chapin High School in 2019 and was quickly accepted as part of the CHS Family. (During the fall of 2019, I also taught an English 102 course at the University of South Carolina, an evening class that met twice per week.) During my time at CHS, I have taught English 2 CP, English 2 H, English 3 CP, English 3 H, AP English Language & Composition, AP English Literature & Composition, Public Speaking, Classical Mythology, and Creative Writing 1. This year (2026-2027), I am teaching English 2 CP, English 2 CP 4x4, English 3 CP 4x4, Creative Writing 1, Creative Writing 2, and AP English Literature & Composition. 

Since the CHS family welcomed me so warmly, I arranged for my son, Connor, to attend school here. He graduated from CHS in 2024 and now lives in Palmyra, Virginia, where he works as a corrections officer. Speaking of family, my wife of 22 years works as an occupational therapist (OT) for Lexington School District Two. Connor is our only child, but our family also includes two dogs, Layla and Frazey.

In addition to loving teaching, I love drawing, listening to music, playing video games, reading, and, of course, writing. I have started my own comic book and have amassed a collection of poetry, short stories, plays, personal essays, and a few in-progress novels. Most recently, I've produced more than 300 manuscript pages of a novel tentatively titled Juniper Falls. My passion for writing fuels my love of teaching, and my love of teaching fuels my passion for writing.

Last fall, I submitted three writing prompts for publication in a special, forthcoming edition of the literary journal Etchings. Although two prompts were rejected, one was accepted for print. In the spring, I submitted ten pieces to four contests: four personal essays, five poems, and one short story. I've yet to hear back about the poems and the story. I have, however, heard about the personal essays: all four were rejected. But I'm not bummed. Rejection is part of the process.