Kat Greene earned her BA in graphic design and Master’s degrees in journalism and English here at Ball State University. She’s currently working to complete her PhD in rhetoric and composition. She will be teaching classes in the Writing Program. Check out her website. 

When are your office hours?

My fall office hours are MWF from 10-11:50 a.m.

What are you reading right now, if anything?

I’m about halfway through Tina Fey’s Bossypants.

Are you working on any projects at the moment? What are they?

For the past year, I have been working on my dissertation. I spent fall 2016 observing three first-year writing instructors who incorporated Ball State’s (final) freshman common reader, The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Giridharadas into their courses. My dissertation describes their their teaching practices, successes, and challenges with using the book.

How do you think your experience as a former and current #bsuenglish student will inform your teaching methods?

Many of the values I hold as an instructor are a direct result of my experiences as a student. For example, I always appreciated instructors who learned my name (and remembered it semester after semester), encouraged me to follow/incorporate my interests, and challenged me with texts that I would never have gravitated toward on my own. I reflect on my student experiences a lot when I teach and when I plan my classes.

What is a piece of advice you would offer students?

Sometimes students share with me very specific plans for their futures, and I always hope that things go according to their plans. However, if students don’t have plans or face detours in their plans, I’d suggest to them to be flexible. Saying yes to new opportunities that cross their path, especially the ones that will challenge them, can be the greatest learning experiences and lead to new opportunities in new directions. Not following their plans can be the greatest thing to happen to their future. The only reason I am where I am is because so many of my “plans” didn’t go the way I expected them to, but those detours put me where I am today, which is a pretty great place. I’m so thankful to have earned my degrees from Ball State, to be working on my PhD,  and now, to be teaching here is beyond any expectations that I set for myself back as an undergrad.