Rachel McShane

Background

About Rachel McShane

I received my bachelor's degree in English with a minor in literature and a minor in writing from Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU). There I worked as a teacher’s assistant for two English professors, Drs. Danny Alexander and Amy Alexander. They encouraged me to consider graduate school upon completing my B.A, which I did. I was accepted into East Texas A&M University (ETAMU) where I received a master's in English, with a graduate certificate in Children’s and Young Adult Literature Studies 2019. I continues on at ETAMU, pursuing a Ph.D. with a focus in Composition and Rhetoric. I began my PhD journey in January of 2020, and successfully completed my program in February 2024.In 2019, during my graduate studies at ETAMU, I received the opportunity to teach as a Graduate Assistant Teacher, and quickly discovered that I had a knack and passion for teaching. Since then, I have have taught at several different types of schools: a public university, a private university, as an embedded dual-credit instructor, and at a public 2-year university. Over the years I have not only taught pre-created courses, but also had the opportunity to design and teach my own classes. My two favorites were an honors Writing Nonfiction course (titled “Writing You” and focused on creative and multimodal memoirs) and a Children’s/Young Adult literature course (“Indigenous Voices," which focused on young adult novels written by Native American authors). I've also assisted in the design of a graduate level course as well.In my last year of my PhD, I stepped out of my role as teacher and took the opportunity to work as a writer and communications specialist in the Office of Marketing and Communications, where I learned so many new and useful skills. However, the classroom always had my heart, so after graduating in 2024, I was honored to receive a full-time lecturer position at ETAMU. After serving there for one year, I transitioned to Paris Junior College, where I am currently a full-time faculty member in the English Department.I have published several articles, presented at numerous conferences, and been invited to speak at professional development events and graduate classes. I have also worked on several writing and editing projects.Whether I am teaching, writing, or researching, my passion and excitement for learning, writing, and helping others shines. In my free time, I love to play with my two dogs (a dachshund and a husky), play music, garden, exercise at my local CrossFit gym, and (no surprise) read and write.