Let me introduce myself.  I've been teaching English at Mercy High School since 1978.  In addition to Michigan certification for teaching high school English and Humanities, my professional preparation includes an Educational Specialist degree (Ed. S.) with concentration in Teacher Education and English Education from Michigan State University (1995); a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Detroit (1972); a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a double minor in Theology and Philosophy from Loyola University of New Orleans (1969). 

  I have received Fellowships and been selected for participation in a variety of National Endowment for the Humanities seminars:  William Faulkner: the Mythic and the Regional (1985) at Southeast Missouri and Oxford, MS; 19th Century British Women Writers (1991) at Oberlin College; Teaching Literature and Humanities (1996-99) at Madonna University; and Teaching Detroit:  the Prototype of the Industrial City (2001) at Madonna University. 

  At Mercy I am the current department Chair.  I assist the English Department members in coordinating the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing (finalists named each Spring) and independent preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam in English (Spring term). 

  Claudia Michalik and Steve Morgan shepherd the NCTE writers now; Claudia Michalik, Lynn Waldsmith, and I will conduct the AP English field trip in February.

  I have been commissioned a Eucharistic Minister and co-moderate the Just Peace Club.