CARA N.

STODDARD
EDUCATION
cara.stoddard@gmail.com 216 Statter Rd. Ephrata, WA 98823 616-745-0180

Master of Fine Arts, Nonfiction Writing University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, May 2013. Thesis: Spirography Committee: Mary Clearman Blew (Professor of English, committee chair), Joy Passanante (Assistant Director of Creative Writing Program), Sanford Eigenbrode (Professor of Chemical Ecology). Bachelor of Arts, English The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, May 2008. Cum laude. Thesis: We Are Jumping! Committee: Neil Carpathios (chair), Karl Woelz. TEACHING EXPERIENCE English 102: Composition II, Winter 2014 Tenure-Track Instructor, Big Bend Community College Taught introductory-level literature survey course emphasizing composition in response to literature. Covered the genre conventions of poetry, drama, short stories, and book-length creative nonfiction as well as writing for multiple purposes including regular posts on a blog. Students wrote two literary analyses (one that integrates a critics perspective), a comparecontrast essay, and a conventional research essay. Built and maintained an active presence on the courses Canvas (LMS) site. English 101: English Composition I, Fall 2013 Tenure-Track Instructor, Big Bend Community College Taught the introduction to college-level composition course (three sections of 25 students) emphasizing thesis-driven composition in response to controversial current events/rhetorical situations. Covered the writing process, reading strategies to foster active engagement with texts, inquiry-based research methods, and techniques for integrating source material. Built and maintained an active presence on the courses Canvas (LMS) site. English 493: Advanced Nonfiction Writing, Practicum, Spring 2012 Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Assisted professor in teaching capstone creative nonfiction course. Facilitated in-class writing activities for the braided essay unit and designed and taught a short short unit in which students read and wrote essays of 1500 words or fewer. Built and maintained the courses Blackboard site. Met with students for one-on-one conferences about their work, graded student critiques, and taught the course in the professors absence. English 293: Beginning Nonfiction Writing, Spring 2013 Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Taught course in creative nonfiction (one section of 11 students), emphasizing craft analysis and techniques of the genre. Exposed students to the conventions of personal essays, essays of place, researched-based essays, and literary journalism. Facilitated workshops on student essays and technical exercises. English 102: College Writing and Rhetoric, Spring 2011-Fall 2012 Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Taught composition and rhetoric (six sections of 26 students), emphasizing inquiry-based research methods for the 21st century. Engaged students in multiple rhetorical situations in order to foster critical thinking skills and citizenship. English 102: College Writing and Rhetoric Online, Summer 2011, Summer 2012 Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Facilitated and taught six-week summer course in composition and rhetoric (two sections of 15 students), emphasizing inquiry-based research methods for the 21st century. Built, edited, and troubleshot course content on Blackboard Learn (LMS). Used Google Docs to confer with students.

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English 101: Introduction to College Writing, Fall 2010 Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Taught introductory composition (two sections of 26 students), emphasizing rhetoric, reading comprehension, and genrespecific writing projects. Introduced students to the writing process and the basics of rhetoric. PUBLICATIONS Pantoum (poem). Educe: A Journal of Queer Literature. (Forthcoming). Ode to the Xiphoid Process (poem). Knockout Magazine. (Forthcoming). To a Player Piano, Grand Rapids, MI, 2010 (poem). Ninth Letter. (2013). Lake People (essay). The Gettysburg Review. 25:4 (Winter 2012). 567-573. Krummholz (essay). Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment. 14.1 (Fall 2011). 8-15. AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS Nominated for a Pushcart. Essay: Lake People. 2012. 2nd place, Knockout Magazines International Memorial Reginald Shepherd Prize. Poem: Ode to the Xiphoid Process. Judged by C. Dale Young. Fall 2012. 1st Place, Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environments Notes from the Field Contest. Essay: Krummholz. Fall 2011. Writing in the Wild Travel Award, Taylor Research Station, Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. University of Idaho, Fall 2012. Teaching Assistant Fellowship, $6000/year. University of Idaho, Fall 2010-Spring 2013. Nixon Scholarship, $1500/year. University of Idaho, Fall 2010-Spring 2013. The Donaldson Prize for Best Creative Independent Study, The College of Wooster, English Department, Spring 2008. Medical Humanitarian Internship Grant, The College of Wooster, Lilly Project, Summer 2007. The Donaldson Prize for Personal Essay, The College of Wooster, English Department, Spring 2008 & Spring 2009. PRESENTATIONS & READINGS Visions of the West: Creative Writing and Reading. Chaired panel of creative readings at the Western Literature Association Conference; Berkeley, CA. October 2013. Formative Revisions: Deconstructing and Retelling the Dominant Narrative. Presented at the Northwest Womens Studies Association Conference; Moscow, ID. April 2013. Rewriting Disempowerments. Presented on a creative panel of poets at the Northwest Womens Studies Association Conference; Moscow, ID. April 2013. What Is Seen and Unseen in the Writing Classroom: Preparing UI for LGBTQ Writing. Presented at the University of Idahos Womens Leadership Conference; Moscow, ID. October 2012. Lake People. Creative essay presented at MFA Symposium; Moscow, ID. January 2012. On Indignation. Creative essay presented at the University of Idahos Turning of the Wheel Colloquium: Explorations of the Unique and Universal; Moscow, ID. November 2011.

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Krummholz. Creative essay presented at the Western Literature Association Conference; Missoula, MT. October 2011. RELATED EXPERIENCE Teaching Assistant, University of Idaho Writing Center Moscow, Idaho, Fall 2012 Tutored up to 150 students throughout the semester. Coordinated the Writing Center in the directors absence, trained six high school writing tutors. Met with up to six students on a weekly, recurring basis to improve their written language skills over the course of the semester. Tutor, University of Idaho Writing Center Moscow, Idaho, Spring 2012 Assisted student writers at all levels in all stages of the writing process. Gave one-on-one feedback during half-hour or fullhour sessions. Worked with non-native English speakers on language acquisition skills and cultural conventions of standard written English. Student Teacher, Polaris Expeditionary Learning School Fort Collins, Colorado, Fall 2008 Taught eleven weeks in a 7th and 8th grade humanities class. Designed and implemented a unit on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Practiced protocols and design principles of the Expeditionary Learning/Outward Bound school model. Backpacking Guide & Pathfinding Coordinator, Colvig Silver Camps Durango, Colorado, Summers 2008, 2009, 2010 Lead 26-day backpacking trips in the Weminuche Wilderness of SW Colorado for co-ed groups of 16-18-year-olds. Trained 35 head counselors and assistant counselors in NOLS group dynamics, expeditionary learning philosophies, and Leave No Trace backcountry ethics. YMCA LOOP Site Coordinator, Grand Rapids Montessori School Grand Rapids, Michigan, Oct 2009-May 2010 Planned curriculum-enhancing activities for before- and after-school inner-city program for sixty students grades K-8th. Supervised programming and mentored four Activity Leaders. English Teacher and Caretaker, Royal Seed Needy Home Ofaakor, Ghana, June-July 2007 Lived and taught at an orphanage serving 150 children under age twelve in a rural community in Ghana. Participated in reintegration conversations about cross-cultural discourse through the Lilly Project upon return to the US. EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE Web Designer, Fugue (nationally distributed literary magazine), University of Idaho, Spring 2012. Nonfiction Reader, Fugue (nationally distributed literary magazine), University of Idaho, 2010-2012. CONFERENCES ATTENDED Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, February 2014, Seattle, WA. Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges (SBCTC) New Faculty Institute, September 2013, Tacoma, WA. Peninsula Writers Summer Retreat, June 2012, full scholarship, Glen Arbor, Michigan. Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference, February 2011, Washington, D.C. SERVICE & COMMITTEE WORK Assessment Committee, Humanities Representative, Big Bend Community College, 2013-2014.

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New Student Orientation & Registration, Faculty Volunteer, Big Bend Community College, Winter 2013. Director of IT Hiring Committee, Committee Member, Big Bend Community College, Fall 2013. Gay-Straight Alliance, Faculty Co-advisor, Big Bend Community College, 2013-2014. Service-Learning Orientation Tutor Training, Coeur dAlene Tribe Department of Education, Fall 2012-Spring 2013. English 95 Hiring Committee, University of Idaho, Spring 2012. Curriculum Development Committee, Graduate Student Representative, University of Idaho, Fall 2011-Spring 2012. PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES Jodie Nicotra, Associate Professor & Director of Writing, University of Idaho jnicotra@uidaho.edu | Skype by request (Eastern European Time Zone) Mary Ann Judge, Director of the Writing Center, University of Idaho judge@uidaho.edu | 208-885-4300 Joy Passanante, Senior Instructor, University of Idaho joy@uidaho.edu | 208-882-1038 Jeff Jones, Lecturer, University of Idaho jeffj@uidaho.edu | 208-892-4481