Ellen is an associate professor of writing in the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has a master of fine arts in writing (creative nonfiction and translation) and a master’s degree in French. It was during her MFA program that she first went to Slovenia and was smitten by the landscape and story of the people. She visited Croatia the as well. As a Principia student she traveled on two abroads: one to France and another, focusing on music and art history, to Paris, Munich, and Vienna. She teaches academic writing courses each semester and periodically teaches Intro to Creative Nonfiction for the English Department. Prior to teaching, she was a writer and photographer for Principia.
| Hometown/State/Country | Godfrey, Illinois, USA Originally Chagrin Falls, Ohio |
| Major/Minor | B.A., Principia College, French and English M.A., Middlebury College, French M.F.A., Vermont College of Fine Arts, Writing (Creative Nonfiction) with a secondary concentration in translation. As an associate professor in the Center for Teaching and Learning, Ellen teaches a variety of courses—in writing, revising, editing, and reading—to a variety of kinds of writers, from freshmen to seniors. Each year she trains students to become peer writing/research tutors and periodically teaches Intro to Creative Nonfiction for the English Department. Abroad she teaches a world literature course focusing on stories from a homeland with shifting borders—that is, from Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| Why Slovenia, Croatia & Bosnia? | I still don’t know enough about these places and people, despite several visits! |
| What Slovenian landscape feature are you most excited to see, and why? | I know there are lots of favorite things to see, but I can say I always love the views in the Julian Alps, especially around Kobarid and Tolmin. The color of the Neretva River running through Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is pretty fabulous too. And then there’s the Croatian coastline. The students had better not fall asleep along that route this time! |