Teaching is my passion. There is no greater satisfaction than teaching a student a new skill or a deeper understanding of an issue. Few things can compare to witnessing the moment a student lifts meaning from a book or captures the essence of a lecture. That moment of discovery is magical, for both teacher and student. Each time I walk into the classroom at Seattle University, I strive to create magical moments for my students. My job is made easy by the fact that I teach nonfiction writing, specifically journalism, a field that daily demands that the writer learn something new about a variety of disciplines. Every day journalists must make sense out of chaos as they chronicle historical events while they unfold.

I love telling students about the adventure in journalism and teaching them how to research and write news. However, I take pride in teaching journalism in a way that helps students understand their profession in a broader context. I constantly remind students of the conceptual side of communication. They must realize that there is a history to the concept of news and that history includes individual privacy and social responsibility. They must ask themselves such questions as: How did "news" go from politics and business affairs in Colonial days to a focus on the individual and sexual affairs in the 1990's?

Foremost, I push my students to break away from the pack and practice journalism that examines laws and how the government works, journalism that helps the average citizen understand world events, journalism that promotes justice. I want my students to be aggressive in covering breaking news -- whether for print, broadcast, or cyber -- but I also desire that they examine how single events and individuals affect the public. In brief, I ask my students to work hard to find their niche in journalism, then work diligently to help journalism find its vital place in today's information society.

	Curriculum Vita
	Professional profile and scholarly interests.

	Urban Newspaper Workshop
	A summer camp to attract more student of color to journalism.

	Classes
	From the "inverted pyramid" and cyber tools to the acrimonious relationship between police and the media.