Marcos Hernandez, 2019
Currently, I teach editing and publishing practices as the Faculty Advisor for the student-run Toyon Multilingual Literary Magazine at HSU. Come Spring 2022, I will also begin teaching introductory English courses at College of the Redwoods. In addition to my current and upcoming teaching posts, I serve as the administrative support coordinator for Toyon and HSU’s chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society. I am the co-author of a chapter on editorial courses, diversity and equity education, and the publishing industry in the book From Practice to Print: Creative Writing Academics on the Publishing Trade (2021).
The MA in English experience provided a strong foundation for my personal and professional development, equipping me with a broad set of skills, knowledges, and dispositions that has helped me become a more creative, informed, and reflective person. During my time in the program, I had the honor of working with dedicated faculty members who supported my interests in, among other things, editing and publishing practices, cultural criticism of popular media and literature, and transfer-based theories of writing development and pedagogy. Furthermore, the program’s focus on applied learning gave me several opportunities to put theory into practice. For instance, I taught first-year composition as a graduate teaching associate in 2017, during which I received individualized coaching and support from a trusted mentor. In 2018, HSU English paid for me to present research at a graduate conference at CSU Fullerton, where I presented an interpretive framework for reading contemporary true crime media. My master’s research connected my interests in publishing, writing for social change, and theories of writing development by providing a space for me to explore the possibilities for using real-world publishing projects to teach writing practices.
What I have found most valuable and life-affirming about my experience in the MA in English program has been dispositional: it made me a much more reflective person. My professors regularly challenged me to step back and sort through my own beliefs, biases, and assumptions and to consider those of others when making judgments. In doing so, I developed a reflective orientation towards myself and the world, and I became much more tolerant and empathetic in my interactions with others as a result. These are important qualities to have as an educator, and I am thankful that the MA in English promoted practices that helped me attain them.
