In June 2025, I graduated with my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing. Like many MFA programs, the University of Washington English Department employed all MFA students to teach college composition, literature, and writing courses. After many years of working as an instructional assistant, camp counselor, and tutor, I was comfortable structuring and teaching college-level courses.
I feel fortunate to have an MFA degree — I consider my academic career to be very polarizing. From preschool to second grade, my school district placed me in ESL (English as a Second Language), and I attended weekly speech therapy sessions. During second grade, my test scores and grades improved significantly enough for me to be considered one of the “advanced” students. Reading, writing, and history were definitely my strongest subjects early on in my education.
After remaining an “advanced” student throughout the rest of elementary school and middle school, I became academically and emotionally burned out in high school. My grades dropped; I barely managed to graduate a semester early with a 2.9 GPA. Graduate school, at the time, seemed highly unlikely.
In between high school and college, I took a year off from school; I wanted to know what my week would look like if I didn’t spend most of it inside classrooms. I used the year to go to therapy and keep up with my college degree by passing CLEP exams. I decided to attend classes at community college since
- It seemed to be a “low stress,” flexible academic environment,
- I wanted to try taking night classes.
Since I felt rested from my year-long break, I had the energy to begin and finish my college education. The rest helped me put effort into my classes, while having the organization to balance my time.
My goals as an educator
Since 2014, I’ve worked in several roles in education, starting as a summer camp counselor at Columbus Academy when I was thirteen years old.
My instructional, curriculum-writing, and classroom management experience has been inclusive of…
- Students across all ages
- I’ve worked with children as young as preschool-aged to adults studying in university. I’ve found that educational challenges can be overcome in any life phase.
- Students with specialized learning needs and support
- For two years in high school, I volunteered as a high school aide for student athletes competing in the Colorado Special Olympics, and as an Integrated PE aide for supporting special needs students through physical education activities.
- Many academic subjects and interests for all grade levels
- As an MFA graduate and an English instructor, the humanities (such as reading, sociology, and history) and arts (writing) are my strongest subjects. I am able to support individuals seeking help with school assignments and college admissions essays.
- Additionally, I am able to support individuals seeking help with math and science subjects for grades preschool through eighth grade. I am able to help with basic math skills (forms of multiplication and division, reading word problems) and middle school math topics (such as exponents). As for science, I can support students with introductory-level ecology, geology, anatomy, and weather topics.
- Both remote, hybrid, and in-person learning
- I am able to meet students remotely via Zoom or Google Meets, a hybrid model (meeting in-person as needed), or in-person visits at a public location (such as a library). Understanding the need for students’ school-work-life balance, I do my best to be flexible with different learning needs.
While I am able to advise individuals interested in pursuing an English lit or creative writing degree, students seeking guidance for pursuing a career as an English major, and adults interested in returning to school after a gap, I encourage anyone interested in improving their study habits or needing academic support to reach out to me.
Lillian Morton 