Hi. 

Fancy seeing you here. 

If you want to make sense of my experiences within the Master of Arts in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse (MA-WRD) program, you've gotta know where I'm coming from.  It's a bit of a journey, hence the many pictures throughout this portfolio of the Chicago lakefront path.  (The connection might be tenuous, but stay with me...)  So much of my idea-generating for this program has come from the thousands of miles I've logged along Chicago's lakefront, so given that, it makes sense to sprinkle this portfolio with some of the pictures of the lakefront I've traversed so much.

I digress.

Anyway, the short version is that I've been all DePaul, all the time, for about the last decade: undergrad alumna, full-time staff, alumna from the School of Public Service's Masters in International Public Service program, WRD 103 faculty, and in the mix of all of that, in the fall of 2010, I started to pursue Masters #2, the MA-WRD, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, certification.  Why?  Because it would be on DePaul’s dollar (great benefits of being full-time staff), because I liked to write and thought it would be cool to say that I was a “master” writer, and because, why not?  I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Thus, my expectations were non-existent, and worst case scenario, if I didn’t enjoy it, I’d just withdraw.  

No harm, no foul.

Returning to school for Masters #2 for kicks has been a twisted hobby more than it has been “work.”  Interestingly, despite my initial nonchalance toward the program, in many ways I have surprised myself by just how into this program and my final course writings and projects I've gotten--though I usually haven't realized it in the heat of the moment.

My portfolio here details that many of my writings have revolved around social and communal issues--things that I could rant about forever in generalities or specifics--such as ideology, d/(D)iscourse(s), or the politics and power inherent to language and writing.  All of my major course projects have focused on the intersections of language--discourse--ideology--with people, the constituents responsible for--and implicated by--language, words, writing, signs, the signifier and the signified. 

Lots of jargon, to be sure, but this portfolio should (I hope) clarify things a bit. 

To say that this program has heightened my awareness of and sensitivity to the power of language, of the words we use and don’t use, and of the way we craft our message(s), would be a gross understatement. 

Peruse as you please.  And drop me a line with any questions, commentary, or feedback you have. 

I welcome it all.