Projects
Editing - JuxtaProse Literary Magazine
I was a poetry editor for JuxtaProse from its conception until 2016. As poetry editor, I was tasked with fielding submissions, requesting edits from authors, and selecting pieces for publication. In addition, I assisted with the acquisition and selection of art pieces to pair with our written works. I was also tasked with the management of their social media sites. At the time Instagram wasn't as popular, so we primarily used Facebook and Twitter. This aspect of the job included creating engaging posts and images, responding to comments, and strengthening engagement.
Editing - Brian K. Fuller Books
I've worked as a copy-editor for Mr. Fuller on and off for many years. This provides me with a lot of practice in adhering to strict formatting and grammar guidelines. Copy-editing is one of my favorite things to do. It's like a treasure hunt that helps strengthen the written work as a whole.
Procedural Documents
I am currently employed as a Lab Technician at Utah State's Aquatics Monitoring Center. When I began the project, there were no official protocols written up at all. This led to a lot of confusion in my training and a lot of issues with the backlog of data I was trying to process. I worried that the lack of documentation would lead to future mistakes and inaccurate data. Once I figured out how to do the work correctly, I created the following documents to ensure proper protocols are consistently followed. For these documents, aesthetic did not matter. My main goal was to create accurate and clear steps that would be easy to follow for new technicians.
Research - Queerness in Video Games
For this bibliography, I chose to dive into the world of queerness in video games. I landed on this topic selfishly, as I am a queer gamer. It became particularly relevant to me after the June 2020 release of The Last of us Part II. In this sequel, it is revealed that Ellie, a beloved character from the first game, is a lesbian. Not only that, but her partner is a Jewish woman. The game further resists hegemony by introducing a transgender character of color in its second half. These revelations were leaked before the game was released, and anyone involved in its production was met with spiteful online attacks and threats. I wanted to see why, in 2020, reactions to video game characters seen as "other" are still controversial.
Research - Author Visibility
This was a group research project I produced last semester. We chose to research how an independent author can gain visibility and readership. Through the course of the project, we conducted research through literature reviews, interviews, and surveys. We followed university standard protocols in our interviews and surveys. We then distilled all of the information we gained for our final report. We found that it is crucial for independent authors to be active across social media sites, and that the creation of engaging and informative posts is the best way to gain and retain a readership. In addition, it can be useful to create friendships with other authors.