Since June 2014, I’ve held multiple roles in education, including camp counseling, tutoring, special education aide, and acting as both assistant and lead instructors for writing courses.
These roles were quite public-facing and required multitasking in the face of high noise levels, more than one student asking for assistance, drafting of classroom materials (such as assignment sheets and slideshows), and brainstorming lesson plans.
- Instructional Assistant – Youth & Teens Program
- Composition and Poetry Instructor – University of Washington
- Junior Camp Counselor – Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
- Junior Camp Counselor – Columbus Academy
Instructional Assistant – Youth & Teens Program
University of Washington, Youth & Teens Program
Seattle, Washington 98195
June – August 2025
The University of Washington (UW) Youth & Teens Program (YTP) offers four sessions throughout UW’s summer quarter. Each session is two weeks in length; an open mic for friends, family, and YTP staff takes place at the end of the session.
Every weekday, there is an a.m. period and a p.m. period, both three hours in length. Students attend their YTP courses for three to six hours a day with an hour-long lunch break in between periods.
Courses allowed for outdoor and indoor field trips around the UW campus. These trips to the Henry Art Gallery, the Suzzallo Library, and the Sylvan Grove Theater were to help students write offline and more focused.
As an instructional assistant, I supported and led workshops, directed set-up for events and classroom activities, and provided feedback on 21-22 students’ creative work each week.
Writers Workshop for High School — June 2025; August 2025
Taught remotely (over Zoom) and in-person at the University of Washington Seattle campus with two lead instructors. This course is not for credit.
The Writers Workshop for High School is structured for creative writers in grades 9-12 and introduces topics in poetry, fiction, memoir-writing, and multimodal craft. Homework for this course included reading responses, new drafts, and revisions.
Students produce a writing portfolio of final drafts and are expected to present and perform 1-3 pieces at the final open mic. Students also help set up the walking gallery, where audience members (family and friends) view each student’s writing portfolio and leave compliments on sticky notes.
Writers Workshop for Middle School — July 2025; August 2025
Taught in-person at the University of Washington Seattle campus. This course is not for credit.
The Writers Workshop for Middle School is structured for creative writers in grades 6-8 and introduces topics in poetry, fiction, memoir-writing, and comics. Homework for this course included new drafts and revisions.
Students spend the second week of the Writers Workshop for Middle School finishing and decorating a creative portfolio, then perform 1-3 pieces of writing at a family & friends open mic.
Young Writers Workshop — July 2025
Taught in-person at the University of Washington Seattle campus. This course is not for credit.
The Young Writers Workshop is structured for students in grades 4-5 and reviewed spelling and grammar conventions, public speaking skills, and craft topics for poetry and fiction writing.
Students completed worksheets and physical activities during class. The Young Writers Workshop culminated with a final open mic.
Composition and Poetry Instructor – University of Washington
University of Washington, English Department (Program of Writing & Rhetoric and the MFA Creative Writing Program)
Seattle, Washington 98195
The University of Washington (UW) English Department offers an Academic Student Employee position to all incoming graduate students. During the first year of a graduate program, the Program of Writing & Rhetoric trains students to create, structure, and teach undergraduate composition courses.
During the subsequent years, graduate students have more course options. Graduate students of the MFA Creative Writing Program are trained to teach introductory creative writing workshops in their chosen genre.
These English courses allow for 22-23 undergraduate students of any chosen major. The courses meet twice weekly for 1-2 hours. Every Academic Student Employee was expected to hold quarterly conferences with students and be available for office hours.
Each course lasted 10 weeks. In lieu of a final exam, students produced a portfolio of written work.
ENGL131: Composition: Exposition — Autumn 2023; Winter 2024; Spring 2024; Fall 2024
Taught in-person and asynchronously over Zoom. The course provided all undergraduate students with a “W” (writing) credit.
The Program of Writing & Rhetoric gave a lot of freedom with the ENGL131: Composition syllabus; I structured my ENGL131 section to encourage students to express their academic interests through research projects, op-eds, workshops, and personal narratives.
ENGL283: Intro to Verse Writing — Winter 2025
Taught in-person and asynchronously over Zoom. The course provided English majors with a workshop credit on the poetry track. Completion of ENGL283 allowed students to enroll in 300-level and 400-level poetry workshops, and consideration into the English major.
In training, the Director of Creative Writing workshopped the second-year graduate students’ ENGL283 syllabi. I structured my ENGL283 section with lectures on craft and poetry history, research projects, workshops, and personal narratives. I encouraged my students to use the assignments to reflect on their “personal canon”.
Junior Camp Counselor – Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Summer Program (Science Camps)
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
June – July 2016
During the summer, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery offers two summer education programs for elementary-middle school-aged students — one program focuses on history, specifically Fort Collins history, and the other program focuses on science.
Each camp lasted for a week; each week covered a new science topic. Camps met Monday – Friday for four hours in the morning with a thirty-minute-long lunch and recess break. There were approximately 30-40 campers each week with 1-2 lead instructors and 1-2 junior counselors for support. The topics would be offered more than once throughout the summer.
Astronomy
Introduced planet systems, the life-cycle of stars, and classifying different astronomical bodies (galaxies, supernovas, planets, dwarf planets, etc.) A field trip involved a trip to the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery’s planetarium and 4D star dome.
Ecosystems
Reviewed the function of ecosystems and how animals, plants, the sun, and humans cultivate the environment. Students went outside to the Poudre River to learn more about local ecosystems in Northern Colorado.
Geology
Students interacted with different types of rocks and crystals, and learned how they can naturally and artificially form.
Junior Camp Counselor – Columbus Academy
Columbus Academy, Summer Experience
Gahanna, Ohio 43230
June – August 2014; June – August 2015.
The private school, Columbus Academy, offers its Summer Experience program for campers aged 3-16 from May to August. Many of these campers are based in the Greater Columbus area; some campers were from difficult economic situations.
Each camp lasted for a week, introducing students to activities such as archery, horseback riding, and sailing. Camps met Monday – Friday from 7 am to 4 pm with an hour-long lunch break during the day. There were approximately 30-40 campers each week with 1-3 lead instructors and 1-2 junior counselors for support.
Every Friday, Columbus Academy holds a campus-wide talent show, in which some camps rehearse and perform for campers, staff, faculty, and guests.
Summer 2015
Neverland Adventures
A Peter Pan-themed camp for preschool and elementary school-aged campers, who were encouraged to dress up as the characters, learn “pirate-talk,” and participate in arts and crafts.
Daily 5: Reading
An educational camp for elementary school-aged campers to practice reading comprehension skills.
Daily 5: Math
An educational camp for elementary school-aged campers to practice basic and slightly advanced math skills.
Chess Masters
A chess-themed camp that reviewed and introduced basic chess rules, tactics, and other how-tos to elementary through high school-aged campers. The camp culminates in a chess competition with trophies.
Gym Skills: Aerial Arts
An off-campus gymnastics camp; campers and counselors traveled everyday to a local Columbus gymnastics center.
Summer 2014
Model Airplanes
A STEM camp where elementary through middle school-aged campers can build model airplanes from scratch.
No Sleeves Magic Camp
A magic camp for elementary to high school-aged campers with an interest in learning old-school magic. No Sleeves Magic Camp included a field trip to a local magic store in Columbus and a magic act in the talent show.
Math Applications
An educational camp for elementary school-aged campers to practice math skills. Lessons included teaching campers how to use an abacus to solve math problems and memorizing the multiplication table.
Camp Invention (STEM for kids)
An educational STEM camp for elementary and middle school campers to learn robotics, coding, and other science topics.
Chef Academy
A cooking camp for middle school-aged campers interested to learn how to use basic kitchen appliances and tools to bake sweet goods.
Lillian Morton 