Q: What work experiences led you to this position with the University Center for Teaching and Learning?
A: I began my career in 2008, performing copy editing and quality assurance analysis for online courses for five institutions of higher education. Auditing a high volume of online courses led me to become an instructional designer, with a focus on integrating digital courseware with learning management systems for course development. An an alumna of the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, I eagerly accepted a position with the Teaching Center in 2015 and have been with Pitt Online ever since.

Q: What’s the most exciting project you’re working on right now? What makes it so interesting?
A: Particularly, there are three courses I’m working on right now for Pitt Professional, our continuing education platform. These are on preparing nurse educators to be preceptors, strategies for advanced therapeutic exercise for physical therapists, and social work clinical supervision, respectively. They’re exciting for me because we can push the envelope on graphic design, digital presentation of case studies, hybrid models of learning, and using instructional design methods for motivation in alternative credential programs. I’m working with extremely dedicated faculty on the content for these courses, and am so impressed by the quality of their teaching and writing.

Q: What do you love most about your job and why?
A: The most satisfying and enjoyable part of my job is during a course development meeting with faculty, when I can see a sense of relief appear on a faculty member’s face. That way I feel that together we’ve solved for a lot of unknowns or problems, and having a plan gives them some assistance and direction. When we determine ways to bring their ideas to life and produce effective teaching, I can see how much it energizes them to do the parts of their job that they love the most, too.