Mark-Elliot Finley's C.V.
Education
Master of Arts Anticipated 2024
English (literature)
The University of South Florida (USF)
Bachelor of Science 2022
Secondary English Education
Minor in French
Magna Cum Laude
Honors College
The University of Tampa (UT)
Teaching
Graduate Assistant First Year Composition (FYC) Instructor August 2022 to Present
USF Department of English
Courses Taught:
ENC 1101: Composition 1 (2 sections)
ENC 1102: Composition 2 (6 Sections)
Middle School English Teacher June 2021 to Present
Summer Success Institute (academic summer camp)
Sarasota, Florida
Develop week-long lesson plans oriented around classical literature
Utilize digital graphic novels to teach works such as Beowulf, Shakespeare,
Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Animal Farm
Along with reading through the graphic novels, students do role playing
and art projects to reinforce the content, along with working through
weekly literature packets I made for the camp
All lessons correspond to the emotional theme of the week
(gratitude, growth mindset, responsibility, etc.)
High School English Teacher August 2021 to May 2022
Howard W. Blake High School
Tampa, Florida
Courses Taught:
AP Language (Instructional Intern)
AP Literature (Instructional Intern)
English 4 Honors (Instructional Intern)
English 2 (Full-Time Teacher)
English 2 Honors (Full-Time Teacher)
Specialized Coursework and Professional Development
"Preparing for College Teaching" (University of South Florida, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, specialized coursework, spring 2023)
"Teaching Practicum for ENC 1101" (University of South Florida, Department of English, specialized coursework, fall 2022)
“First-Year Composition Artificial Intelligence Workshop,” USF Department of English, February 9th, 2024 (In-Person Workshop)
“End-of-Semester Best Practices” (University of South Florida, Department of English, online workshop, April 14, 2023)
“Teaching Analysis and Synthesis of Sources” (University of South Florida, Department of English, online workshop, March 24, 2023)
“Writing and AI by Dr. Scott Graham” (University of South Florida, Department of English, online workshop, February 17, 2023)
“Introduction to Accessibility” (University of South Florida Department, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, online workshop, November 15, 2022)
Professional Service
Executive Member with USF’s English Graduate Student Association
Vice President of the Undergraduate Mentor Program (2023-Present)
Writing Group Coordinator (2022-2023)
Vice President of USF’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter (2023-Present)
Conference Moderator:
“The Marketing Machine: Apps, Adaptions, and Advertising.” 5th Annual Undergraduate Humanities Conference, January 26, 2024.
"Otherworldly Creatures and Their Monstrous Powers." 4th Annual Undergraduate Humanities Conference, January 27, 2023.
Publications
Articles
“Toward the Black Diasporic Short Story –Transcultural Elements in Irenosen Okojie’s ‘Grace Jones.’” Co-authored with Arthur Hollist, Research in African Literatures, vol. 54, no. 4, 2024 (forthcoming).
“‘He’s a Witch!’: Foster’s Magical Emasculation of the Libertine in The Coquette.” Florida Undergraduate Journal, vol. 2, 2023, pp. 33-44.
Book Reviews
“The Lion’s Country: C.S. Lewis’s Theory of the Real by Charlie W. Starr.” Mythlore, vol. 42, no. 1, 2023, pp. 234-37.
“The Leadership of C.S. Lewis: Ten Traits to Encourage Change and Growth by Crystal Hurd.” Mythlore, vol. 41, no. 2, 2023, pp. 259-63.
Works in Progress
“‘Happy Birthday, John—I Want a Divorce!’: Margaret Atwater Mason’s The Binding of the Strong: A Love Story and American Divorce Discourse on John Milton’s Tercentenary.” (Submitted to Adaptation)
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Beowulf: J.K. Rowling’s Beowulfian Allusions, Analogues, and Inversions.” (Submitted to Mythlore)
“‘He’s a Buffoon:’ Milton’s Satan, the Medieval Comic Devil, and False Heroism in Paradise Lost.”
Presentations
“‘The Voyage of the Old Men’: A Seafaring Conversation between Lewis and Hemingway.” Conference on Christianity and Literature, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, May 9-11, 2024 (forthcoming).
“‘Happy Birthday, John, I Want a Divorce!’: Margaret Atwater Mason’s The Binding of the Strong: A Love Story and American Divorce Discourse on John Milton’s Tercentenary.” South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Atlanta, GA. November 9-11, 2023.
“Milton’s Farting Clown- Medieval Satanic Influences in Paradise Lost” (Poster Presentation). Conference of Florida Graduate Schools (CFGS), April 18-19, 2023.
“Milton’s Farting Clown- Medieval Satanic Influences in Paradise Lost” (Poster Presentation). University of South Florida’s Graduate Student Research Symposium, March 22-23, 2023.
“‘He’s a Witch!’: Foster’s Magical Emasculation of the Libertine in The Coquette” (Poster Presentation). Florida Undergraduate Research Conference (FURC), February 18-19, 2022.
Honors, Fellowships, and Scholarships
John and Dorothy Iorio Outstanding English Graduate Student (USF English) 2024
Jack B. Moore American Literature Memorial Award (USF English) 2023
Outstanding Poster in Arts and Humanities (USF Office of Graduate Studies) 2023
USF College of Arts and Sciences University Graduate Fellowship 2022-2023
Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellow 2022
The University of Tampa’s Bob Ruday Servant Leader Award 2022
Sigma Tau Delta Elva Bell McLin Senior Scholarship 2022
Most Promising Student of French from the College of Arts and Letters (UT) 2019
Dean’s List College of Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Education (UT) 2018-2022
University of Tampa’s Presidential Academic Award 2018-2022
University of Tampa’s International Baccalaureate Award 2018-2022
Memberships
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society 2022-24
Conference on Christianity and Literature 2024-Present
Milton Society of America 2023-Present
South Atlantic Modern Language Association 2023-Present
Sigma Tau Delta International Honors Society 2021-Present